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THE  DURATION  OF  NIAGARA  FALLS 


AND   THE 


i     1 


il 


HISTORY   OF  THE  GREAT   LAKES. 


188  1-18  94. 

By  J.  W.  SPENCER,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  F.  G.  S. 


s  h:  c  ( )  N  r>  K  o  1  'J  1  < )  N 


PUBI.ISHKD   BT 

The  Commi&sjioner*  of  tlio  N.  Y.  SlBle  Rewcrvalion,  at  NingRra. 

Albany,  1895. 


4>Hi 


COPYRIGHT 

By  J     W.  SPENCER. 

189b. 


I'''    '*  ? 


i 


PREFACE. 


To  the  encouragement  of  Prof.  J.  P.  liCsley,  State  Geologist 
of  Pennsylvania,  is  largely  due  the  author's  interest  in  the  investi- 
gations into  the  history  of  Niagara  Falls  and  the  Great  Lakes, 
chapters  of  which  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  lead- 
ing scientific  journals,  the  first  of  which  was  printed  in  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia, 
in  1881.  Since  that  time  more  complete  chapters  have 
appeared.  These  have  been  compiled  into  their  natural  (although 
not  appearing  in  their  chronolgical)  sequence  owing  to  the  pro- 
found interest  taken  in  research  by  Andrew  11.  Green,  Esq.,  the 
president  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  State  Reservation  at 
Niagara,  and  are  here  published  in  order  to  give  a  scientific 
history  of  the  great  cataract  of  the  world,  so  that  the  informa- 
tion may  extend  beyond  the  limit  of  a  few  specialists.  The  full 
history  of  the  lakes  has  not  yet  been  told,  but  enough  is  known 
to  write  a  somewhat  complete  story  of  the  Falls.  To  Mr.  F.  B. 
Taylor  is  due  a  special  acknowledgment,  among  other  contribu- 
tions, for  having  recently  given  us  details  of  the  drainage  of 
the  Huron  basin  by  way  of  the  Nipissing  Straits  and  the  Ottawa 
valley  before  the  waters  of  the  upper  lakes  changed  their 
drainage  to  the  Niagara  river,  and  thus  accelerated  the  recession 
of  the  Falls. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Washington,  D.  C,  December  1,  1894. 


I 


I 


(3) 


r   :'t 


ik'  .  'If 


Pf 
Ce 


CONTENTS. 


piai. 
Preface 1 

Chapter         I.  The  Evidence  of  High  Continental  Elevation  during  the 

Foriuationa  of  the  Valleys  of  the  Great  Lakes 7 

II.  Origin  of  the  Basins  of  the  Great  Lakes 14 

III.  Ancient   Shores,   Boulder    Pavements  and    High    Level 

Gravel  Deposits  in  the  Region  of  the  Great  Lakes 27 

IV.  Deformation  of  the  Iroquois  Beach  and  Birth  of  Lake 

Ontario.    Appendix— The  Iroquois  Beach  North  of  the 

Adirondacks 44 

V.  Deformation  of  the  Lundy  Beacli  and  Birth  of  Lake  Erie,    58 

VI.  Deformation  of  the  Algonquin  Beach  and  Birth  of  Lake 

Huron 64 

VII.  High    Level    Shores  of  Warren  Water  (Gulf)  and  their 

Deformations 74 

VIII.  Plei8*^ocene  Subsidence  versus  Glacial  Dams.  Appendix — 
Channel  Over  Divides  Not  Evidenceper  «e  of  Glacial 
Dams 85 

IX.  The  History  and  Duration  of  Niagara  Falls 99 

(5) 


' 


■in 

SI 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAOE. 

Plate      I.        Camera  obscure  drawing  of  the  falls  in  1882 Frontispiece 

II.   (9)  Boulder  pavements  on  Georgian  bay 87 

(10)  Ancient  boulder  pavements  of  Algonquin  beach 37 

III.  Niagara  Falls  from  the  Canadian  side 99 

IV.  Niagara  gorge  below  the  Whirlpool 101 

V.        Whirlpool  rapids 109 

Figure     1.        Map  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 10 

2.  Map  of  the  ancient  Laurentian  river  and  its  tributaries..  15 

3.  Section  of  Cut-Terrace  and  beach 28 

4.  Section  of  Construction  Terrace 28 

6.        Section  of  Cut-Terrace  with  boulder  pavement 29 

6.  Plan  of  Burlington  beach 29 

7.  Section  of  Cut-Terrace,  with  beach  concealed 30 

8.  Plan  of  Barrier  beach  in  front  of  the  lagoon 32 

9.  In  Plate  II 37 

10.  In  Plate  II 37 

11.  Section  of  gravel  ridges 43 

15.  Map  of  the  Iroquois  gulf 47 

18.         Map  of  the  Lundy  gulf 89 

14.        Map  of  a  portion  of  the  Algonquin  gulf 66 

16.  Deserted  strandn  of  Warren  gulf 75 

16.  Section  across  the  St.  Clair  valley 79 

17.  Map  of  Niagara  canon 103 

18.  Map  of  Whirlpool 104 

19.  Section  across  Whirlpool  ravine 105 

SO.        Map  of  recession  of  falls 106 

81.        Map  of  Foster's  flats 109 

55.  Section  across  Foster's  flats 109 

S8.        Section  across  end  of  gorge 110 

S4.        Longitudinal  section  of  Niagara  gorge Ill 

26.  Section  across  narrows  of  gorges 112 

56.  Section  across  gorge  at  Johnson's  ridge 113 

27.  Section  of  gorge  near  Horseshoe  Falls 113 


(6) 


C  H  A  PTE  R  I. 


10 
15 
28 
28 
29 
29 
30 
32 
87 
37 
43 
47 
S9 
66 
75 
79 
103 
104 
105 
106 
109 
109 
110 
111 
112 
113 
113 


The  Evidence  of  Continental  Elevation  during  the  For- 
mation of  the  Valleys  of  the  Great  Lakes.*^ 

Ik,  in  the  growth  of  the  American  continent,  the  moulding  of  the 
land  features  had  not  largely  depended  upon  its  projection  above  the 
Hea,  favoring  or  retarding  the  action  of  rains  and  rivers  in  sculpturing 
its  surface,  there  would  be  little  interest  as  to  what  was  its  relative 
height,  before  the  commencement  of  the  Pleistocene  period.  But  we 
find  valleys  vastly  greater  than  the  meteoric  agents  could  havie  pro- 
duced under  existing  conditions  Thus,  there  are  not  only  deep  canons, 
but  also  vast  depressions,  descending  to  levels  far  below  the  sea,  which 
are  now  filled  with  the  earlier  drift  accumulations,  or  form  channels 
submerged  beneath  ocean  waves,  or  constitute  basins  occupied  by 
lakes.  Hence,  in  the  study  of  the  drift  itself,  in  the  investigation  of 
the  lake  history,  or  in  the  research  upon  the  growth  of  modern  rivers, 
we  necessarily  inquire  what  was  the  altitude  of  the  continent  that 
would  permit  of  the  mouldings  and  channelings  of  the  original  rock 
surfaces. 

Following  the  period  of  high  continental  elevation,  the  geologist 
sees  in  the  valleys  and  old  channels,  still  below  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  in  the  high  level  beaches,  extensive  submergence,  succeeded 
by  a  re-elevation,  but  not  to  the  original  height,  when  the  continent 
was  being  chiseled  out  by  the  ancient  rivers.  That  this  re-elevation  is 
still  going  on  is  shown  by  the  northward  tilting  of  the  comparatively 
recent  marine  accumulations  along  the  St.  Lawrence  valley  and  Gulf 
coast,  and  the  raised  beaches  in  the  lake  region,  as  well  as  by  the 
shoaling  of  the  waters  of  Hudson's  Bay  during  the  present  period  of 
observation. 

As  general  statements  do  not  satisfy  investigation,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  search  for  definite  measurements  of  the  former  height  of 
the  continent  among  the  archives  of  the  geological  past.  Let  us  first 
seek  for  the  testimony  recorded  by  the  Mississippi  river. 


•Reprinted  from  Bull.  Obol.  8oc.  Ah  ▼ol.  I,  pp.  05-70, 1889,  where  the  text  appears  under 
title  of  "Tub  High  Continental  Elevation  Prbobdino  the  Plemtoobnb  Pbbiod." 


(7) 


8 


Buried  Channel  of  the  Mibsisbippi. 


m 


f 


For  a  di(4tiince  of  1,100  inilt'H,  iiU'aHured  in  a  tlir«(!t  line,  aliove 
tlie  raoutli  of  ihii  "  Father  of  WaterH,"  the  niodern  valley  \h  n\vre\y 
iiiaintainin^  hn  own  nize,  or  more  generally  ih  being  wlowly  filled  by 
the  deposition  of  river  alluviiun  upon  its  floor.  There  are  only  two 
exceptionH,  of  a  few  niileH  each,  wln're  the  river  is  scouring  out  the 
rocky  floor,  and  these  are  over  barriers  recently  exposed  there  during 
the  changes  of  the  Pleistocene  period.  To  such  an  extent  has  the 
ancient  valley  or  jiafion  been  filled,  first  with  drift,  and  this  covered 
with  river  alluvium,  that  its  original  rocky  floor  is  now  burie<l  to  a 
depth  of  170  feet,  even  at  La  Orosse,  a  thousand  miles  from  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.*  Farther  nouth  the  depth  of  these  loose  deposits  increases, 
until  at  New  Orleans  a  boring  of  G.Sof  feet  below  sea  level  does  not 
penetrate  the  southern  drift,  nor  even  reach  to  its  lowest  members. 
The  lower  500  miles  of  the  ancient  MisHi8si|)pi  were  exca^'ated  out  of 
Eocene  or  Cretaceous  deposits,  while  the  valley  above  the  imjutli  of 
the  Ohio  has  the  form  of  a  canon,  excavated  out  of  Paleozoic  rocks, 
varying  in  width  from  ten  to  two  or  three  miles,  and  having  a  dt'pth 
(exclusive  of  the  portion  now  filled)  of  from  150  to  560  feet,  according 
to  the  late  General  G.  K.  Warren. 

From  this  inspection  of  the  river,  it  is  easily  seen  that  no  natural 
rainfall  <!ould  so  iniirease  the  volume  of  the  discharge  as  to  remove  all 
the  deposits  whi(di  now  fill  the  old  valley,  ntuch  less  excavate  the 
original  and  immense  canon.  A  vastly  greater  elevation  of  the  conti- 
nent was  necessary.  Even  were  the  whole  continent  uniformly 
elevated  «30  feet,  together  with  the  remainder  of  the  unknown  depth 
of  the  ancient  Mississippi  river,  at  New  Orleans,  the  canon  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  river  would  re(juire  a  still  greater  relative  elevation 
of  the  northern  country  in  order  to  give  suflicient  channeling  power 
to  the  flowing  waters;  but  the  slope  of  the  floor  of  the  partially  buried 
valley  is  much  less  than  that  of  the  modern,  as  was  formerly  shown  V»y 
the  author. I  Here,  again,  is  the  proof  that  the  (country  drained  by 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi  once  stood,  relatively  to  that  in  the 
region  of  its  mouth,  much  higher  than  at  present.  Of  the  amount, 
which  was  at  least  many  hundreds  of  feet,  we  have  no  absolute 
measurement;  nor  can  we  ascertain  it  by  calculation,  for  there  is  no 
register  of  the  excess  of  the  amount  of  rainfall  during  the  epoch  of  tlie 
greatest  sculpturing  over  that  of  the  present  day. 

*Geol.  Wla.,  Vol.  I,  1883,  p.  2fi3. 

t  E.  W.  Hilgard,  Am.  Jour.  So.,  ?nd  8er.,  Vol.  XLVIII,  1863,  p.  333 

t  Am.  Nat.  Vol.  XXI,  1887,  pp.  168-71. 


Profound  Sdbmrrobnor  ok  Valmys. 


0 


While  thcHti  rccordH  of  tlie  Minn'mHippi,  wiiicli  liavtt  been  only 
partially  »k'(uphc«rtMl,  do  not  furiUHli  all  of  llu'  duHired  itiforination,  yet 
an  far  aH  tlicy  jjfo  tlu'y  arc  invaluable. 

I'aHHiu^  from  the  buried  (Oiannel  of  the  MisHisHippi  to  itH  oontinua- 
tion,  now  Hubinerjijed  beneath  the  waveHof  the  (4ulf  of  Mexico,  we  find 
evidence  indicating  hucIi  a  HtupendouH  continental  elevation  aw  to  be 
alinoHt  ijicredible,  were  it  not  supported  by  collateral  evidenix',  upon 
both  the  Pacilic  and  Atlantic  coastH.  The  Houndings  off  the  coast  of 
the  delta  ol  the  MisHiHsippi  indicate  the  outer  margin  of  the  continental 
plateau  as  submerged  to  a  depth  of  3,600  feet,  indented  by  an  enibay- 
ment  of  another  liundred  fathoms  in  depth,  at  the  head  of  which  there 
IH  a  valley  a  few  miles  wide,  liounded  by  a  plateau  from  !>00  to  l,iiOO 
feet  above  its  floor.  This  valley  is  now  submerged  to  a  depth  (»f 
;J,00()  feel,  and  is  the  re]>resentative  of  the  channel  of  the  ancient 
Mississippi  river,  towards  which  it  heads,* 

On  the  Pacific  coast,  in  the  region  of  Cape  Mendocino,  Prof.  George 
T)avi<lsoii  has  identified  three  valleys  now  submerged  to  from  2,400  io 
.'JjliiO  feet,  and  several  of  inferior  depth.  These  measurements  are 
those  of  the  valleys  where  they  lireak  through  the  marginal  jilateaus 
of  the  continent,  at  about  six  miles  from  the  prest^nt  shore,  where  it  is 
submerged  to  th«j  depth  of  100  fathoms. f 

The  soundings  along  the  Atlantic  coast  reveal  similar  deep  fjords. 
The  long-since  known  extension  of  the  Hudson  river,  beneath  the 
Atlantic  waters,  is  traceable  to  the  margin  of  the  continental  plateau, 
.ac(piiring  a  depth  of  2,844  feet,  in  front  of  which  the  soundings  show 
a  bar,  covered  with  mud,  wliich,  however,  is  now  submerged  to  the 
depth  of  only  1,230  feet.  The  unpublished  soundings  off  the  mouth 
of  the  Delaware  river  bring  to  light  another  valley,  the  floor  of  which 
is  now  covered  by  ocean  waves  to  nearly  1,200  feet  —  its  continuation 
seaward  not  having  been  ascertained.     (Lindenkohl.)J 

Were  the  continent  elevated  only  600  feet,  the  Gulf  of  Maine  would 
be  replaced  by  a  terrestrial  plain,  in  some  places  200  miles  wide,  but 
traversed  by  rivers,  one  of  which,  towards  its  mouth,  would  be  2,004 
feet  deep  —  that  is  to  say,  the  bottom  of  the  fjord  is  now  submerged 
2,664  feet.  Even  this  great  depth  may  not  be  its  maximum,  for  along 
the  line  between  the  opposite  banks,  at  the  mouth,  now  beneath  100 
fathoms  of  water  (which  is  approximately  the  depth  to  which  the  real 
margin  of  the  continent  is  submerged),  we  find  that  the  sea  is  nearly 

♦J.  W.  Bpencer,  "The  Mlaslsslppi  River  DuringtheOreat  River  Age,"  New  Haven,  1884,  p.  2. 

tOeo.  DavidBon,  Bull.  Cal,  Acad.  Sc  ,  vol.  II,  1887,  p.  365. 

t  Appendix  13,  Rep.  U.  3.  Omst  aad  Oeadetic  Survey  for  1887  (1889),  pp.  870-73. 

3 


I    i  » 


^ 


I 


I. 


10 


Sdbmbeobd  Laurbntian  Valley. 


5,000  feet  deep.  Whether  this  represents  an  embayment  of  the 
ocean  setting  towards  the  valley  or  a  continuation  of  the  fjord  is  not 
determined. 


The  St.  Lawrence  river  and  gulf  bear  the  same  testimony  of  the 
existence  of  deep  fjords  extending  from  the  rivers  through  the  now 
submerged  plateau  forming  the  margin  of  the  continent;  and  the  lower 
part  of  Saguenay  river  flows  between  stupendous  walla  and  constitutes 


Pbofound  Depth  of  the  Grkat  Lakes. 


11 


a  fjord  whose  waters  reach  a  depth  of  840  feet.  In  the  St.  Lawrence 
river,  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay,  there  is  a  channel 
1,134  feet  below  the  surface.  This  increases  in  depth  in  passing  sea- 
ward. In  the  region  of  the  centre  of  the  modern  gulf,  the  floor  of  the 
old  channel  is  now  submerged  1,878  feet,  and  the  adjacent  valley  1,230 
feet;  thus  showing  the  canon  as  being  over  600  feet  deeper.  As  at 
the  mouth  of  the  channel  through  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  so  at  the  mouth 
of  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  there  is  a  deep  chasm;  for  inclosed 
between  the  banks,  100  fathoms  below  the  surface,  there  is  now  the 
depth  of  3,666  feet,  with  water  2,C00  feet  deeper  just  seaward  of  it. 
Although  this  ancient  valley  is  over  60  miles  wide  at  its  mouth  and 
was  a  narrow  channel,  yet  it  is  not  as  broad  as  some  portions  of  the 
modern  so-called  river.  The  breadth  of  the  submerged  valley  through- 
out its  windings  for  a  length  of  800  miles  or  more,  is  remarkably 
regular,  only  gradually  increasing  its  magnitude  in  passing  seaward. 
Other  and  smaller  channels  are  visible  in  the  soundings:  thus,  south  of 
the  Straits  of  Canso,  between  Nova  Scotia  and  Cape  Breton  island, 
there  is  one  1,200  feet  deep,  according  to  the  British  admiralty  charts, 
while  adjacent  soundings  show  less  than  600  feet  of  water. 

Hudson's  Bay  rarely  exceeds  a  depth  of  600  feet,  yet  at  the  outlet 
the  channel  is  1,200  feet  deep.  This  depth  increases  in  passing  down 
the  straits,  where  the  scanty  soundings  show  2,040  feet  before  reaching 
the  mouth.  Here,  in  Hudson's  Straits,  the  old  valley  is  a  chasm  across 
a  mountain  system,  whose  peaks,  upon  the  southern  side  rise  to  6,000 
feet  above  tide.  The  canon  of  the  St.  Lawrence  also  crosses  the  trend 
of  two  mountain  systems,  but  these  are  of  no  great  height.  The  same 
is  true  for  any  of  the  other  submarine  valleys  described. 

The  record  of  a  former  high  continental  elevation  is  again  inscribed 
in  the  depths  of  the  Great  Lakes  —  Ontario  reaching  to  491  feet  below 
ocean  level,  Superior  to  nearly  as  much,  Michigan  to  300,  and  Huron 
to  150  feet.  The  lake  basins  are  merely  closed  up  portions  of  the 
ancient  St.  Lawrence  valley  and  its  tributaries.  Their  distance  from 
the  sea  woiild  necessitate  not  merely  a  general  elevation  of  the  conti- 
nent, but  also  a  greater  amount  of  elevation  towards  the  head-waters 
of  the  system,  as  has  been  shown  with  regard  to  the  excavation  of  the 
upper  portion  of  the  ancient  Mississippi  canon.  The  lake  basins  are 
all  excavated  out  of  Paleozoic  rocks,  except  a  part  of  that  of  Lake 
Superior. 

The  soundings  do  not  afford  all  the  inforraati«n  that  we  desire,  yet 
they  demonstrate  the  presence  of  submarine  valleys  reaching  upon  all 
our  coasts  to  depths  of  3,000  feet  or  more.     Again,  the  soundings 


il 


! 


'if 


':   it!     I 

!5f !  ' 


12 


Obioin  of  the  Ancient  Valleys. 


'  t- 


show  that  within  comparatively  short  distances  from  their  mouths  the 
depth  of  the  valleys,  below  the  surface  of  the  seas,  sometimes  did  not 
exceed  from  1,200  to  1,800  feet,  but  that  beyond,  there  was  a  greater 
increase  iu  depth,  within  the  last  few  leagues. 

While  depressions  in  the  earth's  surface  are  made  and  modified  by 
terrcHtrial  crust  movements,  yet  the  leaving  open  of  great,  yawning 
chasms  is  not  oi  sufficiently  well  known  occurrence  to  attribute  all  of 
the  submerged  valleys  upon  the  American  coast  to  such  an  origin, 
especially  when  we  consider  the  great  length  of  the  submerged  channel 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  river  (800  milep),  its  various  windings  and  its  uni- 
formly increasing  size,  until  it  passes  into  the  great  chasm,  just  before 
it  reaches  the  margin  of  the  continent.  The  idea  of  the  excavation 
of  these  submerged  valleys  by  glaciers  —  some  of  which  are  outsidf  of 
glacial  regions  even  of  the  past  —  is  too  untenable  for  a  moment  of 
serious  consideration.  Irrespective  of  the  causes  which  have  deter- 
mined the  location  of  the  channels  here  described,  it  appears  that  they 
have  been  made,  one  and  all,  by  the  excavating  power  of  rivers  and 
lateral  streams  pouring  down  the  hillsides.  These,  together  with  the 
other  meteoric  agents,  have  also,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  removed  the 
Paleozoic,  and  also  the  Triassic  rocks,  from  the  depressions  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Gulfs  of  St.  Lawrence  and  Maine,  which  have,  however, 
been  more  or  less  affected  by  terrestrial  movements.  ■ 

The  length  of  time  required  to  excavate  the  channels  of  these  great 
rivers  commenced  as  far  back  as  the  Paleozoic  days.  However,  the 
culmination  of  that  of  the  Mississippi  was  not  until  the  later  Tertiary, 
or  even  the  Pleistocene  period.  As  the  St.  Lawrence  valley,  now  sub 
merged  to  a  depth  of  over  1,200  feet  for  a  distance  of  800  miles,  is  mostly 
cut  out  of  rocks  of  the  Paleozoic  group,  except  a  belt  of  the  Triassic 
(across  the  lower  portion,  more  or  less  involved  in  mountain  uplifts),  its 
antiquity  must  be  very  great.  The  culmination  was  also  probably  in  the 
later  Tertiary  era,  like  that  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  channels  on  the 
California  coast,  for  there  are  submerged  Tertiary  rocks  off  the  coast  of 
Massachusetts  and  Newfoundland,  at  elevations  much  higher  than  the 
beds  of  the  old  channel. 

Although  the  excavating  forces  took  so  many  periods  to  form  the 
valleys,  and  required  a  high  continental  elevation,  yet  the  extreme 
altitude  of  over  2,000  feet  appears  to  have  been  of  comparatively 
short  duration,  for  otherwise  the  deep  chasms  in  which  the  sub- 
merged channels  terminate  would  have  extended  farther  inland  than 
we  find  them,  and  would  have  been  headed  by  more  gentle  slopes,  in 
place  of  vrecipitous  clifEs,  over  which  the  waters  of  the  former  rivers 


Eesemblancfb  to  the  Fjobds  cf  Norway. 


18 


were  pecipitated  in  great  cascades.  In  the  fjords  of  Norway,  merging 
into  rapidly  contracting  valleys,  or  headed  by  great  vertical  walls,  hun- 
dreds of  feet  in  height,  having  the  structure  named  cirques,  may  be  seen 
to-day  the  counterpart  of  the  coast  of  the  American  continent,  when 
its  marginal  plateaus  stood  3,000  feet  higher  than  at  present;  yet  Nor- 
way stood  once  much  higher  than  now,  but  was  afterwards  submerged, 
from  which  depression  it  has  only  recently  been  re-elevated  so  that 
its  plateaus,  close  upon  the  sea,  rise  to  a  height  of  three  or  four  thou- 
sand feet,  and  its  mountains  still  higher.  The  old  hydrography  is  more 
or  less  distorted  by  warpings  of  the  earth's  crust,  which,  however,  do 
not  obscure  the  valleys,  although  rendering  the  features  somewhat 
more  complex.     The  amount  of  distortion  has  yet  to.be  determined. 


hi 


CHAPTER     II. 


li 


^*  1 

1     -I: 


11.1 


Origin  of  the  Basin  of  the  Great  Lakes  of  America.* 

Introduction. 

Even  as  recent  as  a  decajile  ago  very  little  was  known  as  to 
the  origin  of  the  Great  Lakes  of  America.  While  we  find  stich 
generalized  statements  as  "most  lakes  are  due  to  terrestrial  crust- 
movements,"  yet  ijuch  crust-movement  had  not  been  tested  in  the 
American  lake-region.  Again,  from  the  time  of  early  geological  inves- 
tigations in  America,  statements  are  found  that  the  basins  were  the 
result  of  erosion  ;  but  the  methods  of  erosion  were  not  explained,  and 
this  was  the  more  necessary  as  most  of  the  basins  have  rock-bound 
outlets.  Later,  in  some  geological  literature,  the  method  of  excavation 
was  hypothetically  attributed  to  glaciers.  Such  was  the  unsatisfactory 
condition  of  our  knowledge  of  the  j)roblem  when  the  writer  first  com- 
menced the  study,  in  attempting  to  solve  the  origin  of  Dundas  Valley, 
at  the  western  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  more  than  a  dozen  years  ago. 
This  investigation  has  developed  results  bearing  not  only  upon  the 
origin  of  the  lake-basins,  but  also  upon  the  physical  history  of  the  lakes, 
and  broader  questions  of  the  building  and  sculpturing  of  the  continent. 

The  methods  of  investigation  have  been  the  studying — (1)  of  the 
hydrography  of  the  modern  lake-basins  and  submerged  channels  upon 
the  coast  of  America  ;  (2)  of  the  deep  wells  bored  into,  or  through,  the 
drift  deposits,  by  which  buried  channels,  and  their  relation  to  or  con- 
trast with  the  modern  valleys,  have  been  discovered  ;  (3)  of  the  elevation 
of  *he  continent ;  (4)  of  the  direction  of  the  glaciation  in  the  lake- 
region  ;  and  (5)  of  the  now  high-level  beaches,  in  which  are  recorded 
continental  uplifts,  together  with  the  deformation  of  the  old  surfaces, 
owing  to  unequal  terrestrial  movements  or  warpings  of  the  earth's 
crust. t  The  lakes  which  have  been  the  basin  of  the  more  careful 
investigation  are  Ontario,  Erie,  Huron,  and  Michigan,  with  the 
respective  altitudes  of  24Y,  573,  and,  of  the  last  two,  582  feet  above 
the  sea  (see  the  Map,  p.  15). 

*  From  the  Qdartcrlt  Journal  of  the  Qboloqical  Sooibtt  of  London  for  November,  1800, 
Vol.  XLVI,  pp.  623-B33. 

t  In  the  fleld-work  I  here  acknowledge  the  asaiatance  of  FrofeMors  D.  F.  H.  WUkint,  W.  W. 
Clendenin,  and  W.  J.  Spillman. 

(14) 


Anoibmt  Laubbmtiam  Riybb. 


16 


111 


I 


w  ii\ 


16 


The  Ontario  and  Erik  Basins. 


Features  of  the  Ontario  Basin. 

Lake  Ontario,  as  was  shown  in  an  earlier  publication,*  is  a  basin 
bounded  on  its  southern  side  by  escarpments,  often  precipitous,  of 
which  some  of  the  steps  are  now  submerged.  At  the  foot  of  the  sub- 
merged escarpments  a  valley  like  that  of  an  ancient  river  may  be 
recognized  from  the  western  part  of  the  lake  to  near  the  eastern  end, 
but  there  it  disappears,  for  reasons  to  be  noted  later.  The  deepest  part 
of  this  valley  is  7o8  feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the  lake.  From  this 
trough  the  floor  of  the  lake  rises  gradually,  or  with  occasional  low 
steps,  to  the  northern  shore.  In  short,  the  basin  was  once  an  old  land- 
valley  traversed  by  a  river.  At  the  western  end  of  the  lake  borings 
have  revealed  an  old  channel,  having  a  lateral  depth  of  292  feet.  This 
is  the  continuation  of  the  caiion  of  the  Dundas  valley,  which  is  about 
two  and  a  half  miles  wide,  bounded  by  rocky  walls  nearly  500  feet 
high,  capped  with  Niagara  limestone.  Down  this  valley  the  waters 
of  the  ancient  Erie  basin  once  flowed,  f 

If  the  waters  of  Lake  Ontario  were  withdrawn,  its  present  basin 
would  be  a  broad  valley,  continuous  with  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence  val- 
ley, having  a  breadth  of  .30  or  40  miles.  Into  this  plain,  at  ai  point 
about  20  miles  -jast  of  Toronto,  there  is  a  channel,  approaching  the 
shore,  whose  bed  is  Hi  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  lake,  J  but  with 
boundaries  submerged  to  only  200  feet.  This  depression  trends  sotith- 
ward  and  joins  that  at   the  foot   of   the  submerged  escarpment  before 

mentioned,  g 

Features  of  the  F/rie   liasin. 

The  floor  of  T^ako  Erie  is  a  broad  flat  plain,  now  rarely  submerged 
to  a  depth  of  more  than  84  feet,  and  usually  less.  Only  a  small  area, 
situated  directly  south  of  the  western  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  is  of  greater 
depth,  and  there  the  greatest  sounding  is  210  feet.  ||  But  from  this 
region  the  Erie  valley  was  drained  by  the  Grand  river  and  Dundas 
Valleys  into  the  western  end  of  T^aki!  Ontario,  as  was  shown  in  1H81; 
for  the  Niagara  river  did  not  then  exist.  Numerous  tributaries  of  the 
modern  shallow  lake  flow  over  deeply  buried  channels,  the  deepest  of 
those  discovered  being  228  feet  below  the  lake  surface,  as  described  by 
Dr.  Newberry,  ^  although  the  floor  of  that  portion  of  the  lake  is 
nowhere  over  84  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water. 


*  "  DiMOvery  of  the  Preglacial  Outlet  cf  the  Basin  of  Lake  Erie  into  that  of  Lake  Ontario,' 
by  J.  W.  Spencer ;  Proc.  Am.  Phil.  Soc,  Philad.  1881. 
+  See  "  Discovery  of  the  Preglacial  Outlet  of  Lake  Erie,"  etc. 
X  Bee  "  British  Admiralty  Chart  of  Lake  Ontario." 
S  See  U.S.  Ijake-Survey  Charts  of  Lake  Ontario. 
I  See  U.  B.  Lake-Survey  Charts  of  Lake  Erie. 
^  Geology  of  Ohio. 


G 


i 


HuBON  AND  Michigan  Basins. 


17 


Similar  channels,  buried  to  depths  below  the  floor  of  the  eastern  end 
of  Lake  Erie,  near  Buffalo,  have  been  des(5ribed  by  Dr.  Julius  Pohl- 
mann.  *  The  borings  into  many  others  in  the  region  of  iho  western 
end  of  the  lake  have  been  recorded  by  Prof.  T.  Sterry  llunf,f  and 
prove  the  existence  of  similar  buried  channels. 

The  original  recognition  I  of  the  valley-like  character  of  the  basins 
of  Ontario  and  lirie  was  based  upon  the  above-mentioned  characterp, 
and  upon  others  now  Buj)plemented  by  a  more  perfect  collection  of 
facts;  but  the  greatest  difllculty  in  the  way  of  explanation  was  in  the 
occurrence  of  the  rock-bound  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario, —  a  ditliculty 
which  observations  have  at  last  dis})elled,  as  will  be  seen  later  on. 

I'tatiires  of  the  Huron  liasin. 

The  southern  half  of  Lake  Huron  is  a  j/.ain  traver^ed  by  valleys  and 
submtrged  to  form  only  a  shallow  lake.  Northward  of  this  shallow 
basin,  and  extemling  oblit^uely  across  the  lake  for  90  miles,  there  is  a 
submerged  escari)ment  rising  to  a  height  of  from  :?00  to  450  feet, 
facing  nonheistward.  The  deeper  part  of  the  lake  then  trends  north- 
wfird  in  tie  direction  of  Georgian  Hay.  At  one  point  the  extreme 
depth  of  the  submerged  valley  reaches  760  feet.  The  absolute  depth 
of  the  rock  in  the  deepest  channel  between  Luke  Huron  proper  and 
Georgian  Bay  is  not  known,  but  soutuiings  show  .'^06  feet;  and  as 
there  is  a  deep  channel  upon  the  western  side  of  Georgian  Bay  it 
becomes  highly  probable  that  a  deeper  and  connecting  channel  is  filled 
with  drift,  like  those  known  to  occur  elsewhere,  bt  ne<ath  the  lakes. 
From  the  straits,  between  the  islands,  the  narrow  channel  in  Georgian 
Bay,  just  referred  to,  extends  southeastward  aiul  is  submerged  to  a 
depth  of  5 l(t  feet.  This  is  at  the  foot  of  the  Niagara  escarpment, 
which  extends,  as  a  strong  topographic  feature,  from  the  head  of  Lake 
Ontario,  and,  rising  in  places  to  1,700  feet  above  the  sea,  into  the  pen- 
insula between  Georgian  Bay  and  Lake  Huron  |)roper.  The  channels 
at  the  foot  of  escarpments,  submerged  or  otherwise,  in  Lake  Huron  and 
Georgian  Bay  ai'e  fragmentary  records  of  the  history  of  the  iake- 
v alley 8.  || 

Features  of  Lake  Michigan. 

This  lake  is  divided  into  two  basins.  The  more  northern  and  larger 
basin  has  a  maximum  depth  of  86-t  feet.     It  is,  in  part,  bounded  by 

•  Paprtr  read  btjf era  ihe  \mer.  Assoc.  Advaace.  Science,  1883. 

t  See  Reports  Gtol.  Canada,  J863-66. 

X  See  "  Diuoovery  of  the  PruKlMsial  Outlet  of  Lake  Erie,"  etc. 

I  See  U.  S.  Lake-Survey  Chart  of  Lake  Huron,  and  the  Canadian  Chart  of  Georgian  Bay, 


,1 

II 


18 


Buried  Valleys  South  of  Gkoroian  Bay. 


I 


vertical  Hubmergcd  escarpments,  one  of  which,  upon  the  eastern  side, 
has  a  height  of  600  feet.  While  'lie  deepest  sounding  at  the  modern 
outlet  of  the  lake  is  only  262  feet,  there  are  adjacent  channels  buried  to 
unknown  depths,  But  these  have  been  imperfectly  ex)>lored.  Into 
this  shallower  portion  of  the  lake,  however,  the  fjord  of  Grand 
Traverse  Bay  has  a  northern ly  trend, —  it  is  012  feet  deep.  This  and 
the  smaller  fjords  indicate  the  existence  somewhere  of  a  deep  channel 
connecting  with  the  Huron  basin,  as  much  as  the  river-valleys  buried 
beneath  the  drift  materials  of  the  modern  floor  of  Lake  Erie  prove 
deep  channels  throughout  that  basin,  although  not  shown  by  the  sound- 
ing^';  for  the  Lake-Michigan  valley  is  carved  out  of  undisturbed  and 
almost  horizontal  Paleozoic  rocks,  the  newest  of  which  are  Coal 
Measures. 

The  southern  basin  of  Lake  Michigan  is  separated  from  the  northern 
by  a  plateau  submerged  to  a  depth  of  from  300  to  342  feet;  whilst  the 
southern  basin  itself  is  now  570  feet  deep.  The  area  of  this  portion  of 
the  basin  is  now  much  smaller  than  that  of  the  Prepleistocene  valley, 
as  its  margins  have  been  filled  with  drift,  and  now  forms  broad  plains 
bounding  the  lake.  Beneath  these  deposits  is  a  deej^ly  buried  chaimel, 
leading  to  the  valley  of  Lake  Huron,  and  to  be  noted  further  on. 

Buried  Valleys  Revealed  by  Borings. 

The  deep  wells  revealed  the  existence  of  the  buried  channel  down 
which  the  waters  of  the  Erie  Valley  orginally  drained,  and  thus  estab- 
lished the  relationship  of  the  Erie  with  the  Ontario  Basin.  But  the 
most  important  series  of  borings  were  those  between  Georgian  Bay  and 
Lake  Ontario,  for  here  we  have  the  connecting  link  between  the  valleys 
of  the  upper  lakes  and  that  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  indeed  the  key  to  the 
origin  of  the  vallej's  of  the  lakes. 

Between  Georgian  Bay  and  Lake  Ontario,  a  distance  of  about  95 
miles,  a  portion  of  the  country  is  comparatively  flat  composed  of  a 
series  of  rising  plains;  but  there  are  also  high  transverse  ridges  of  drift, 
having  a  general  trend  of  east  and  west.  It  is  upon  the  northern  side 
of  the  drift  ridges  that  Lake  Simcoe,  with  a  diameter  of  about  20 
miles  is  situated.  But  upon  the  northern  side  of  Lake  Simcoe  there  is 
another  series  of  drift  ridges  trending  towards  the  northeast.  Both  of 
these  series  of  ridges  rise  to  between  200  and  550  feet  above  Lake 
Huron,  these  measurements  being  the  extreme  variation  in  their  height. 

From  Georgian  Bay  to  near  Lake  Simcoe,  for  a  distance  of  30  miles, 
the  country  is  low  and  flat,  with  a  known  absence  of  rock  to  far  below 


rel 

dil 

hi 


Buried  Laurentian  Valley. 


19 


the  level  of  the  bay.  Lalte  Simcoe  is  140  feet  above  Georgian  Bay, 
but  upofj  its  northern  side,  at  IJarrie,  a  well  hao  been  sunk  in  the  Drift, 
without  penetrating  it,  to  a  depth  of  280  feet  below  its  surface.  Thirty 
miles  further  inland,  south  of  Lake  Siracoo,  at  Newmarket,  a  well  was 
in  the  process  of  being  bored.  It  had  reached  a  level  below  Georgian 
Bay  and  was  yet  in  drift  dejiosits  when  visited.  In  another  well 
several  miles  to  the  westward,  near  the  side  of  the  ancient  buried  valley 
at  Beeton,  rock  was  reached  at  50  feet  below  the  surface  of  Georgian 
Bay. 

Between  Newmarket  and  Richmond  ITill  there  are  several  deep  wells 
on  the  heavy  drift  ridges  which  cross  tie  country.  But  at  Richmond 
Hill,  at  a  height  of  217  feet  above  Georgian  Bay,  there  is  a  well  400 
feet  deep  without  penetrating  the  diift.  This  provts  the  thickness 
of  the  Drift  of  the  higher  ridges  crossing  the  old  valley  north  of  the 
well  to  be  n(.t  less  than  TOO  feet  in  the  old  channel.  Southward  of 
Richmond  Hill  the  cotimry  falls  away  in  a  series  of  moie  or  less  rolling 
steppes  to  Lake  Ontario,  but  these  plains  show  the  absence  of  rock 
along  deeply-cut  valleys  to  far  below  the  level  of  the  upper  lakes. 
Upon  the  western  side  of  this  chain  of  borings,  but  a  few  miles  distant, 
the^e  is  the  Niagara  et^carpment.  Upon  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Simcoe 
the  country  is  covered  with  flat  limestones,  rising  to  150  feet  above 
that  lake.  From  the  known  absence  of  rocks  along  the  lice  of  borings 
and  stream  excavations,  between  a  high  mountainous  escarpment  upon 
one  side  and  a  rocky  floor  upon  the  other,  and  from  these  borings 
reaching  to  200  feet  or  more  below  the  upper  lakes,  without  penetrating 
the  drift  but  stopping  in  quicksand,  there  has  been  discovered  the 
existence  of  the  only  channel  of  antiquity  which  could  now  draw  off 
the  waters  of  the  upper  lakes,  if  the  drift  were  removed.  Although 
none  of  the  borinus  have  reached  the  original  rocky  floor,  yet  the 
depth  of  the  buried  valley  is  suggested  by  the  channel  close  upon  the 
northern  side  of  Lake  Ontario,  now  submergecf  to  474  feet,  which  is 
deep  enough  to  drain  the  last  drop  of  water  oxxt  of  Lake  Huron. 

We  have  now  found  the  ancient  Laurentian  channel  ^om  Lake  Mich- 
igan through  Lake  Huron  and  Georgian  Bay,  and  thence  buried  beneath 
drift  deposits  until  it  is  again  recognizable  throughout  nearly  the  whole 
length  of  Like  Ontario,  being  joined  at  the  western  portion  by  an 
ancient  outlet  of  the  Erie  valley  (the  ancient  Erigan  River).  But  the 
relative  maximum  depression  of  the  channels,  as  far  as  explored,  is 
disturbed  by  terrestrial  warpings,  to  be  described  hereafter. 

Across  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Michigan,  b  veen 
hills  risirg  upon  either  side  to  heights  of  sometimes   800  or  1,000 


■■  n   1 


ill 


, '%  "^ 


w 


20 


Bl'ried  IIuronian  River  Channel. 


feet  above  Lake  Huron  or  Lake  Michigan,  tlicre  is  a  valley 
whose  western  portion  is  occupied  by  the  Grand  river,  and  the 
eastern  by  a  small  river  emptying  into  Saginaw  Hay.  At  the  divide 
between  these  rivers  the  land  docs  not  exceed  100  feet  above  the  lakes. 
The  topograi)hic  features  of  the  valley  show  its  original  opening  as 
having  been  into  the  II»iron  Valley  by  Saginaw  Bay;  but  a  consider- 
able proj)ortion  of  the  modern  drainage  is  in  a  direction  opposite  to 
that  of  the  valley,  or  flowing  towards  Lake  Michigan  —  that  is,  the 
drainage  has  been  reversed.  The  maximum  depth  of  the  western 
poriion  of  this  buried  valley  is  not  known,  but  there  is  an  absence  of 
rock,  as  shown  in  several  borings,  to  betAveen  100  and  200  feet  below 
the  lake  level.  But  farther  east  in  this  trough  there  are  s«'veral  deep 
wells,  in  one  of  which  the  drift  is  500  feet  below  the  floor  of  the  side 
of  the  valley,  or  350  feet  below  the  surface  of  Lake  Iluror.*  Hence 
we  have  established  the  great  depth  of  the  buried  valley  between  the 
southern  part  of  Lake  Michigan  and  Lake  Huron,  whose  ancient  river 
I  name  the  Huronian. 

Other  buried  valleys  and  channels  'submerged  could  be  given,  but 
they  all  indicate  the  origin  of  the  basins  of  the  lakes  as  the  valleys  of 
a  great  river  and  its  tributaries  —  a  river  of  such  high  antiquity  that 
the  rains  and  rills  had  already  ground  off  the  surrounding  hills  to 
broaden  the  valleys.  But  for  all  this  evid(  nee,  there  a:e  now  rocky 
barriers  forming  an  apparent  obstacle  in  the  way  of  a  complete  solu- 
tion of  the  problem. 

The  Glaciation  of  the  lieyion. 

At  the  present  stage  in  the  investigation  this  subject  can  be  quickly 
dismissed.  The  question  whether  glaciers  can  « rode  great  lake  basins 
is  hardly  pertinent,  for  nowhere  about  the  lakes  is  the  glaciation 
parallel  to  the  shores  or  vertical  escarpments  which  are  associated  with 
the  lakes.  Indeed,  the  direction  of  the  siriai  is  often  at  high  angles, 
even  to  90°,  to  the  trend  of  the  vertical  walls  of  rock  bounding  or 
crossing  the  lakes.  Nor  are  the  faces  of  these  great  walls  of  lime- 
stone polished  by  an  agent  moving  along  their  faces.  That  there  are 
no  stri.ne  parallel  to  some  local  inlet  or  valley  would  be  perhaps  rash 
to  assert;  but,  if  so,  it  is  a  mere  coincidence,  with  no  bearing  upon  the 
origin  or  moulding  of  the  Great  Lake  valleys.  Hence  we  are  forced 
back  upon  a  conclusion  that  the  lakes  were  subacrial  valleys  in  spite 
of  the  barriers,  and  the  fact  that  the  floors  of  most  of  the  basins  are 
below  sea-level  —  that  of  Ontario  being  nearly  5<  0  fett. 

*Thi8  is  at  the  Sanitarian  vVeil  at  Alma,  Mich.,  the  record  being  furnisbed  by  Prof.  Charlea 
A.  Davis. 


* 
Gee 

of  I 


Deformation  of  Kaisbd  Shobes. 


91 


The,  Former  High  Continentdl  Eleoation  of  North  America. 

If  tlio  lakes  and  valloyH  originated  from  atnioHplierio  and  river 
erosion,  then  the  continent  Htood  at  miieh  greater  elevation  than  at 
present,  as  shown  hy  the  <le|)th  of  the  lakes  themselves.  Hut  there  is 
mneh  collateral  evidence  that  in  the  later  Tertiary  days,  probably  dur- 
ing the  Pliocene,  the  continent  was  very  high.  This  is  shown  by  the 
submerged  valleys  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Gulf,  of  the  (4ulf  of  Maine,  off 
New  York,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  river,  upon  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  in  Hudson  Strait.  'I'hese  indicate  that  eastern  America  stood 
for  longages  at  between  1,200  and  1,800  feet  above  its  present  altitude; 
and  the  whole  continent  in  more  recent  times,  but  for  a  brief  period, 
at  upwards  of  3,000  feet.*  Hence  the  former  continental  elevation 
was  8utH(;ient  to  satisfy  all  demands  for  the  erosions  of  the  lake- 
valleys;  but  the  rocky  barriers  still  demand  explanation,  both  on 
account  of  the  present  obstructions  not  having  impeded  the  erosion  of 
the  valleys,  and  on  account  of  their  subsecpient  closing  the  valleys,  in 
part,  into  lake  basins  —  the  necessary  observations  for  the  explanation 
having  long  eluded  investigation. 

Deformation  of  Jidiseil  Shores  and  Jieaches. 

At  the  close  of  the  episode  of  the  newest  till,  the  region  of  the 
Great  Lakes  was  submerged  t)  a  depth  of  at  least  1,700  feet,  as  is 
recorded  in  the  beaches  which  overlie  the  till.  These  high  beaches 
only  remain  as  fragments  about  ancient  islands;  but  if  we  descend  to 
beaclies  of  lower  levels  we  find  them  well  developed  and  containing 
all  the  necessary  evidence  for  ex])l.iining  the  rock-barriers  at  the  ouf- 
lets  of  the  lakes.  Gen.  G.  K.  Warren,  Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A. 
WAS  the  first  to  suggest  the  closing  of  the  lakes  by  warpings  of  the 
earth's  crust.f  Poitions  of  the  high-level  beaches  about  the  lakes  have 
long  been  noted.  But  it  was  Mr.  G.  K  Gilbert  who  first  connected 
the  beaches  upon  the  southern  and  eastern  sides  of  Lake  Ontario,  and 
meisurel  their  great  rise  towards  the  northeast;  but,  Jis  he  did  not 
api)ly  his  discovery  to  the  explanations  of  the  lake  basins,  it  was  first 
applied  by  the  present  writer.^  The  results  of  Mr.  Gilbert's  investiga- 
tion of  beaches  in  New  York  and  Ohio,  and  of  the  writer's  researches 
in  Canada,  Michigan,  New  York,  and  elsewhere,  are  suHicient  to  form 
a  chapter  by  themselves,  and  are  still  only  in  part  published,  but  I  will 

*"High  Contlneotal  Elevation  preceding  tha  Pleistocene  Period,"  by  J.  W.  Spencer,  Bull. 
Geo).  Soc.  Am.  vol  1,  U89;  andOen.  Mag.,  May,  1890. 

t  Appendix  18,  Report  of  Chief  of  EoKineers,  U.  8.  A  ,  1876. 

X  See  "  NotiiB  on  the  WarplDg;  of  the  Earth's  Crust  in  its  Relations  to  the  Origin  of  the  Basins 
of  the  Sreat  Lakes,"  Amer.  Nat  Feb ,  1887,  pp.  168-71. 


: 


i^ 


'II 


tv 


1 

f ! 


'IV'.I: 


Dkfokmation  op  the  Ik(quoh  8uokb. 


draw  upon  tlu'in  only  to  tho  extent  of  explaining,'  the  U.iriierH  acroHS 
the  outlets  of  tlie  old  valleyH. 

Tho  moHt  important  raiwud  btach  of  tho  Ontario  basin  in  tho 
Iroqnoi*  *  At  the  western  end  of  the  lake  it  now  r«'sts  at  H63 
feet  above  tho  sea,  but  rises  slightly  to  tho  east  and  still  more  towarj 
the  north,  until  at  four  miles  oast  of  Watertown  it  is  730  feet  above 
the  sea.  Still  further  nortlieastward,  near  Fine,  on  tho  borders  of  the 
Adirondack  wilderness,  it  reaches  an  elevation  of  972  feet  above  tho  sea, 
beyond  which  recent  meastirements  carry  it  to  1,800  feet  above  the  eea. 
At  tho  western  end  of  tho  lake  the  uplift  is  scarcely  two  feet  in  a  mile  in 
tho  direction  of  N.  "28°  E.  At  and  bt^yond  tho  northeastern  end  of  the 
lake  the  uplift  \*.  found  to  have  iiu-reased  to  five  feet  in  a  milf,  and  in 
the  region  of  farther  observation  to  seven  feet  in  a  northeast- 
ward direction.  Thus  in  tho  di'formed  water  level  I  have  already 
measured  a  barrier  of  about  000  feet  raised  up  at  the  outlet  of  tho  lake. 
Of  this,  about  630  feet  is  confined  to  tho  region  of  and  beyond  the 
eastern  end  of  the  lake,  where  the  later  Pleistocene  barrier  across  the 
ancient  Liurenlian  valley  has  ai>peared.  Wl  ilo  we  know  what 
are  the  maximum  soundings  in  tlie  river,  yet  tho  old  channels  are 
so  filled  with  drift  that  their  de])ths  are  not  revealed.  Still,  we  know 
that  in  one  portion  of  the  channel  cut  out  of  limestone  and  more  or  less 
filled  with  drift,  the  sounding  is  120  feet.  A  short  distance  beyond, 
the  channel  across  the  Laurentian  gneisses  shows  sounding-*  of  240  feet. 
The  maximum  depth  of  the  lake-basins  is  738  feet.  The  deformation 
recorded  in  the  beaches  is  more  recent  than  the  episode  of  tho  upi)er 
till.  Consequently,  if  the  continent  were  at  a  high  level,  with 
the  warping,  known  to  have  occured  since  the  drift  was  deposited, 
removed,  as  shown  by  the  above  figures,  there  would  l)e  not  only  no 
barrier,  but  a  sufficient  slope  in  the  Laurentian  valley  for  the  drainage 
of  what  is  now  the  Ontario  Basin. 

Furthermore,  the  presence  of  the  rocky  barriers  of  the  Rapids  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  further  east,  are  wholly  accounted  for  by  the  terrestrial 
warpings  of  the  region.  Hence  I  have  demonstrated,  after  a  decade  of 
study,  that  no  barrier  existed  across  the  Ontario  valley  when  it 
was  being  carved  out  by  the  ancient  St.  Lawrence,  and  that  this  barrier 
is  of  quite  modern  origin. 

Southeast  of  Georgian  Bay  the  average  measured  warping  is  four 
feet  per  mile,  in  mean  direction  of  N.  20°  E.  This  will  account  for  a 
portion  of  the  barrier  closing  the  Georgian  outlet  of  Lake  Huron.    The 

*"  Iroquois  Beach;  a  Chapter  In  the  OeologicalHisto*y  of  Lake  Oatario/' Proc.  Roy.  Soo. 
Canada,  1889. 


()|<tU(N    OF  THK    LiKK    BaBINS. 


23 


Soo. 


more  clevittMl  lioaclu-s  itj  tho  rt'^i()n  of  Lake  Huron  record  a  wtill 
gri'ftU-r  fliantfc  of  li'Vi'l. 

At  tliH  oiith't  of  L.iko  Kri«»,  Mr.  Gillu'it  atid  my^'If  fiii<l  a  difTcn'ritial 
uplift  of  al»oiil  two  fi'i't  jii-r  mile,  nnd  tliirt  is  Huflicitiit  to  account  for 
any  rock  hartin  to  tlio  recently  formed  haHin  of  Lake  Krie. 

The  warpiiij^alTcrtiiij,'  the  Micliij,'an  IJasin  Iiais  h -en  that  towards  the 
north  and  east;  and  even  in  the  hurried  channels  s(»uth  of  Lake 
Miehi^an  there  is  no  evidence  of  an  ancient  drainage  to  the  south,  ah 
their  heds  were  loo  high  compared  with  tliosc  of  the  northern,  although 
the  latter  have  been  elevated  recently  hy  warping. 

Conclusions  from  the   Ohser  vat  ions. 

The  valleys  of  the  great  lakes  hero  stulied  are  the  result  of  tlie 
erosion  of  the  land-surfaces  by  the  ancient  St.  Lawrence  (named  by  the 
writer  Ldnreutian)  river  and  iis  tributaries,,  during  a  long  period  of 
continental  elevation,  until  the  streams  liad  reached  their  base  planes  of 
erosion,  and  the  meteoric  agents  had  broadened  tha  valleys.  This 
condition  was  at  the  mix  nnun  just  before  the  Pleistocene  period. 

The  doing  of  portions  of  the  old  Laurentian  valley  into  water 
basins  occurred  during  and  particularly  at  the  close  of  the  Pleistocene 
period,  owin^',  in  part,  to  drift  filling  some  portions  of  the  original 
valley,  but  more  especially  t«)  terrestrial  warpings  of  the  earth's  crust, 
which,  to  a  sulHirient  degree,  are  measureable. 

Discussiov.* 

The  Chairman  notel  that  there  were  one  or  two  Fellows  who  had  a 
local  knowledge  of  the  area,  but  the  (piestion  of  the  origin  of 
lake-basins  in  general  was  raised  in  the  paper. 

Dr.  Hinde  did  not  think  that  Dr.  Spencer's  explanation  of  the  origin 
of  the  American  lake  basins  was  the  true  one.  The  submerged  deep 
channels  of  the  alleged  ancient  rivers,  to  which  the  erosion  was  said  to 
be  due,  were  traced  towards  the  east  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  where  they 
ceased  ;  and  their  discontinuity  through  the  barrier  formed  by  the  hard 
gneissoid  region  of  the  Thousand  Isles  was  attributed  to  differential 
elevation,  or  so-called  earth- warping.  This  assumed  warping  where 
barriers  existed  could  always  be  brought  in  to  account  for  them.  lie 
(the  speaker)  asked  where  the  beaches  existed  near  Kingston,  at 
the  east  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  on  the  difference  of  level  of  which  the 
supposed  warping  was  based.  From  his  own  observations  on  the 
region,  he  doubted  the  existence  of  the  alleged  buried  channel  between 
Lakes  Huron  and  Ontario,  and  he  did  not  think  that  the  acknowledged 

*  Before  the  Qeological  Society  of  Loudon. 


24 


Discussion. 


great  thickness  of  Drift  now  covering  the  elevated  area  hetween  thepe 
lakes  shouUl  be  regarded  as  proof  of  the  j^rosence  of  a  former  channel 
directly  connecting  tlicni.  With  reference  to  the  supposed  old  channel 
between  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Ontario,  by  way  of  the  Grand  river  and 
the  Diuidas  valley,  the  water  of  Lake  Krie  M'as  supposed  to  have  run 
tip  the  valley  by  which  the  Grand  river  now  canio  down  to  the  lake. 
All  these  lakes  and  the  elevated  regions  between  thera  had  been 
covero'i  ijy  glaciers,  and  their  movement  had  been  in  a  contrary  direc^ 
tion  to  that  of  the  present  water  drainage  ;  and  judging  by  the  amount 
of  drift  material  transported  by  the  ice  from  lake-basins  over  the 
adjoining  land  surface,  he  believed  that  the  glaciers  had  been  important 
factors  in  their  excavation.  If,  on  the  author's  views,  there  had  been  a 
recent  submergence  to  the  extent  of  1,700  feet,  where  were  there  traces 
of  mvrine  remains  over  the  lake  region  west  of  the  meridian  of 
Kingston,  though  such-  were  not  uncommon  in  the  Jays  of  St. 
Lawrence  and  Ottawa  rivers  V  Also  on  the  author's  hypothesis  of 
a  former  great  lake  whose  surface  would  be  at  a  considerable  elevation 
above  the  sea,  whit  barrier  was  there  at  the  south  end  of  Lake 
Michigan,  near  Chicago,  to  keep  such  a  lake  from  draining  into  the 
Mississippi  valley  ? 

Prof,  Bonne}'  thought  that  Dr.  Ilinde's  criticism  was  not  a  valid 
.  one,  as  he  had  not  utiderstood  that  the  author  denied  the  occupation 
of  the  lakes  by  i  ie,  though  he  did  not  uphold  their  glacial  origin.  He 
could  not  understanii  the  formation  of  Georgian  Bay  by  ice  and  the 
preservation  of  Mmatoulin  Island.  lie  was  struck  with  the  similarity 
of  the  author's  sections  and  those  of  the  Lake  of  Como,  ])ublished  by 
the  la'e  Mr.  J.  Ball,  which  he  had  previously  shown  to  be  adverse  to 
the  glacial  thee  v  of  the  orii;in  of  the  lake-basins.  It  was  not  safe  to 
argue  from  the  absence  of  remains  of  marine  organisms;  for  elsewhere 
they  were  commonly  wanting  in  deposits  formed  under  circumstances 
similar  to  these,  yd  undoubtedlj''  marine.  He  again  could  not  follow 
Dr.  Ilinde  in  his  objections  to  differential  movements  of  the  earth's 
surface,  and  insi.«-t('<l  on  the  great  movements  of  recent  times,  as  evi- 
denced along  the  Frazer  river  aad  in  Norway,  Only  last  autumn  he 
had  seen  distinct  evidence  of  c  jmparatively  modern  depression  along 
the  Dalmatian  coast.  He  suspected  some  changes  even  in  historic 
times.  The  buried  river  channels  described  by  the  author  were  par- 
alleled in  Switzerland,  He  did  not  deny  the  elhciency  of  ice  to  pro- 
duce such  effect,  but  it  did  not  bring  about  what  had  been  attributed 
to  it  by  some  geologists. 


DiSODSSION. 


25 


Dr.  Irving  congratulated  the  author  on  the  results  he  had  placed 
before  the  society.  He  thought  Dr.  Ilinde  had  not  followed  Dr. 
Spencer's  arguments  throughout,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  case  of  the 
connection  between  Huron  and  Ontario.  He  was  glad  to  find  the 
main  points  of  his  own  theoretical  conclusions  as  to  the  inability  of  ice 
to  excavate  confirmed  by  the  author's  observations  in  Norway  and 
America.     He  saw  nothing  startling  in  the  "warping"  hypothesis. 

Mr.  Clement  Reid  ha«I  no  objection  to  Dr.  Spencer's  views  of 
"  warping."  He  thought  all  turned  on  accuracy  of  observation  in 
tracing  the  terraces,  and  he  wished  to  know  whether  it  was  absolutely 
certain  that  the  same  terrace  was  traceable  throughout  the  whole 
distance. 

Rev.  E.  Hill  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  tracts  of  Lake  Siiperior 
were  now  below  sea  level,  and  j'et  no  marine  deposits  are  forming 
there.  He  called  attention  to  the  advantage  of  the  Hydrographic 
Survey,  which  the  author  liad  utilized,  and  which  we  had  in  vain  asked 
for  in  England.  The  depth  of  the  Saguenay  valley  would  be  also 
accounted  for  by  the  author's  explanations 

Prof.  Seeley  was  prepared  to  accept  the  ancient  drainage  of  the 
Laurentian  river  a^s  now  set  forth.  But  lie  did  not  think  it  followed 
that  the  ancient  valley's  lud  been  excavated  by  the  river  anymore 
than  they  were  the  work  of  ice.  The  gtueral  course  of  the  Laurentian 
lakes  followed  the  outcrop  of  the  strata  sutficientl}''  to  suggest  that 
the  lakes  were  originated  by  earth- movements.  The  main  work  of 
excavation  seemed  to  him  attributable  to  marine  denudation  in  times 
when  the  level  of  the  laixl  was  lower.  And  as  tidal  waters  retired 
from  the  valley  which  they  had  cut  out,  the  river  drainage  necessarily 
occupied  these  inlets  after  the  land  was  elevated. 

Mr.  Whitaker  asked  why  objection  was  raised  by  Dr  Hinde  to 
deductions  from  borings  in  America  when  in  England  they  were 
accepted.  No  other  evidence  of  l)uried  channels  was  to  be  had,  some- 
times. He  would  like  to  have  some  idea  of  the  number  of  borings  on 
which  the  author  relied. 

The  author,  in  reply,  answered  Dr.  Hinle  and  Mr.  Whitaker  that 
he  had  only  written  a  condensed  account  of  the  origin  of  the  basins, 
not  of  the  lakes  themselves.  Th<  re  were  no  escarpments  in  the  place 
wliere  Dr.  Hinde  had  asserted  their  existence.  There  were  scores  of 
deep  wells  sunk  in  the  drift  between  Lake  Simcoe  and  Georgian  Bay, 
where  deep  drift  was  shown.  Similar  sections  were  shown  at  the 
southeast  end  of  the  lake.      He  gave  fuller  details  of  the  extension  of 


11 


•t 


n 


26 


Reply  by  AurnoE. 


these  borings  to  the  S.  E.  He  cited  instances  of  modern  buried 
channels  of  a  similar  nature  to  those  which  he  had  described,  and 
which  evidenced  a  high  continental  elevation.  To  Professor  Seeley  he 
replied  that  he  had  no  objection  to  the  assistance  of  sea-waves,  in  part, 
enlarging  the  valleys  in  some  pre-Pleistocene  times.  The  old  Erie- 
Ontario  channel  has  been  warped  two  feet  per  mile,  which  would 
account  for  the  obstruction  of  the  ancient  valleys.  Mr.  Gilbert  and 
he  had  traced  one  particular  beach  continuously  round  Lake  Ontario 
The  elevations  he  had  deduced  from  observations  were  founded  on 
accurate  instrumental  measurements  along  this  line,  and  similar  obser- 
vations bad  been  made  by  him  in  other  areas.  There  was  no 
evidence  of  barriers  in  the  Erie-Ontario  valley  other  than  such  as  were 
due  to  differential  elevation  or  partial  filling  with  drift.  The  pre- 
Pleistocene  drainage  of  the  Lake  Michigan  basin  was  not  to  the  south; 
hence  no  bariier  greater  than  at  present  was  net  ded,  as  explained  in 
the  paper. 

There  were  no  beaches  about  Kingston,  on  account  of  the  low  alti- 
tude, but  he  had  traced  beaches  in  other  parts  of  the  region. 

If  we  wtre  to  follow  the  differential  eleva'ion  we  should  find  that 
there  were  no  Canadian  highlands  at  the  close  of  the  ei)iso<le  of  the 
upper  till,  but  he  could  not  now  enter  into  the  ice-hypothesis.  lie 
gave  instances  of  the  absence  of  marine  organisms  in  undoubted  marine 
beaches,  and  instanced  the  discovery  of  a  whale  in  beach  deposits  upon 
which  the  evidence  of  warping  was  partly  founded. 


CHAPTER     III. 


Ancient   Shores,    Boulder    Pavements   and   High-Level 
Gravel  Deposits  in  the  Region  of  the  Great  Lakes.* 

I.    ClIARACTKBISTICS    OP     AnCIKNT     ShORK-UNKS     IN     TUB     RkGION    OP 

THE  Great  Lakes. 

The  land  features  throughout  the  lake  region  drained  by  the  St. 
Lawrence  river  owe  their  formation  largely  to  the  action  of  waves 
sculpturing  rocky  or  modeling  earthy  shores.  That  the  waves  have 
not  always  been  confined  to  the  margins  of  the  modern  lakes  is  seen  in 
the  gea  cliffs  and  beaches,  from  which  the  waters  have  long  since 
receded.  These  features,  still  rrimaining,  are  sometimes  in  the  form  of 
bold  relief,  and  sometimes  in  the  form  of  narrow  sand  or  gravel  ridges, 
delicately  trace!  over  a  flat  country.  In  some  places  these  ridges 
approach  near  to  the  lakes;  in  other  localities  they  are  miles  away,  and 
at  varying  altitudes  up  to  hundreds  of  feet  above  their  present  waters. 

The  raised  shore-lines  are  no  longer  water  levels,  lor  terrestrial 
movements,  since  the  lakes  have  receded  from  them,  have  commonly 
lifted  them  up  to  unequal  altitudes.  Whilst  some  of  these  old  shores 
represent  former  lake  boundaries,  there  seems  to  be  little  reason  to 
doubt  that  the  higher  sea-cliffs  and  beaches  formed  the  coast  of  brackish 
water  inlets  or  arms  of  the  sea. 

Besides  the  deformation  arising  from  the  unequal  terrestrial  move- 
ments, the  shores  have  been  in  many  places  defaced  by  the  action  of 
rains,  rills,  rivers  and  land^lide8,  until  their  broken  continuity  renders 
them  somewhat  difficult  to  follow  over  long  distances.  The  object  of 
this  chapter  is  to  describe  the  characters  of  the  old  raised  and  deformed 
water-margins,  by  which  they  can  be  identified.  The  ancient  coast- 
lines differ  in  no  respect  from  the  modern,  but  they  are  often  easier  to 
follow,  as  there  are  no  waters  to  restrict  one's  footsteps.  Were  the 
lakes  to  be  suddenly  drained,  but  a  few  years  would  elapse  before  the 
deserted  margins  would  be  as  difficult  to  mark  out  with  precision  as 
any  of  those 'from  Which  the  waters  have  long  since  receded. 

*  Reprinted  from  Bull.  Qkol.  800.,  Am.    Vol.  I.,  pp.  71-86,  1889. 


I'! 


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ii  ''i 


A  I! 


28 


Characteristics  of  Deserted  Shores. 


With  notable  exceptions,  tlie  lakes  are  generally  bounded  by  banks 
of  clay  or  sand,  stratified  or  unstraiified.  The  waves  have  in  places 
cut  into  these  deposits,  leaving  high  clay  bluffs;  in  other  localities  the 
coast  rises  gently  from  the  water-line.  In  front  of  these  shores, 
whether  high  or  low,  beaclies  often  occur.  The  typical  beach  forms  a 
ridge  of  stratified  sand  and  gravel,  rising  from  three  to  five  feet,  or 
even  more,  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  ridge  may  vary  from 
a  few  yards  to  as  many  scores,  or  even  hundreds  in  width.  In  the  more 
perfect  form,  there  is  a  slight  depression  behind  the  ridge  which  is  some- 
times occupied  as  a  ba}-,  lagoon  or  swamp  (fig.  3).     Whilst  the  beach  may 


Fio.  ii  —Section  showing  the  Floor  of  a  Cut  Terrace  on  which  rests  a  Bench. 
6  and c  =  Beaches  brokea  iatoridKelets.    (i  =  A  frontal  sand  bar.     ir=  Old  water-level, 

form  a  frontal  barrier,  in  shallow  water,  distant  from  the  shore,  it  may 
rest  directly  against  the  coast,  forming  a  terrace  (a,  fig.  4),  behind 
which  there  is  no  depression.  In  this  case  the  s  irface  of  the  terrace  is 
apt  to  be  defaced  by  landslides  or  washes;  but  the  beach,  whether  in 


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Fio.  4.  — Section  showing  the  Floor  of  a  Terrace  of  Construction, 
a  —  Terrace  of  constructi  m  resting  oa  cut  terrace .    /'  =  Frontal  pavement  of  boulders.    W  = 
Old  water-level. 

the  form  of  a  terrace  or  off-ahore  barrier,  is  very  often  wanting  when 
the  currents  are  cutting  into  and  washing  away  the  coast  (fig.  5). 
Under  such  a  condition,  if  a  baach  be  formed,  it  is  narrow  and  tempo- 
rary, as  it  is  liable  to  be  washed  away  or  covered  by  landsli  les  The 
eastern  and  southeastern  coast  of  Lake  Huron  commonly  illustrate  the 
absence  of  true  beach  structure.  Another  excellent  exam,ple  may  be 
seen  at  Scarboro  heights,  a  few  miles  east  of  Toronto,  on  Lake  Ontario, 
where  the  clay  banks  rise  to  the  height  of  more   than  200  feet  and 


Characteristics  op  Deserted  Short:8, 


extend  for  a  dhtance  of  nine  miles.  Here  the  cliffs  are  being  eroded. 
The  waves  are  not  forming  a  permanent  beach,  but  the  currents  are 
drifting  the  materials  several  miles  to  the  west  to  build  up  the  barrier- 
beach  in  front  of  Toronto  harbor. 


Fio.  5.-  Section  thowintj     the   Floor   of  a   Cut   Tirrace   without   Beach  but  with  Boulder 

Pavement, 
P".  Boulder  pavement.    ir=Old  water-level. 

In  the  formation  of  beaches  there  is  a  tendency  to  straighten  crooked 
coast-lines  by  the  construction  of  bars  in  front  of  inlets,  which  are  thus 
converted  into  bays  or  lagoons.  Burlington  bay,  at  the  western  end  of 
Lake  Ontario,  is  an  illustration.  Here,  a  narrow  beach  (( ,  fig.  6)  cuts  off 
a  bay  five  miles  long,  whose  depth  is  considerable,  reaching  to  78  feet. 
This  is  particularly  a  well-chosen  example,  for  at  the  head  of  the  bay 
there  is  a  spit  —  named  Burlington  heights  (A,  fig.  6),  rising  to  108-1  IB 
feet  above  the  lake  —  cutting  off  an  older  bay,  now  represented  by  the 


Fia.  Q.—  Mop  of  the  Western  End  of  Lake  Ontario. 
b=  Burlington  beach,  separatiiiK  Burlington  bay  from  the  Lake.    h=  Burlington  heightfi,  an 
ancient  beach  108-116  feet  high,  separating  Dundas  marsh  from  Burlington  bay. 

Dundas  marsh.  This  spit,  when  the  waters  were  at  its  level,  formed  a 
portion  of  an  ancient  shore  (to  be  described  in  a  future  chapter)  in  the 
same  manner  as  Burlington  beach  forms  a  portion  of  the  modern  lake- 
shore. 

In  places,  where  the  waves  break  upon  the  more  exposed  coast,  the 
beaches  are  apt  to  be  piled  up  a  few  feet  higher  than  their  mean  level. 
The  opposite  result  is  seen  where  the  ridges  are  fashioned  as  spits  and 


41 

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30 


ChARAOTBBISTICS   of   DaSBRTED   SrrORKS, 


pass  below  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  form  of  submerged  bars. 
The  increase  in  the  depths  of  the  water  in  front  of  the  beaches  is 
usually  very  gradual. 

The  study  of  the  modern  and  ancient  shores  is  reciprocal.  By  the 
former,  still  washed  by  waven,  we  can  identify  the  latter;  and  by  the 
examination  of  the  floor  in  front  of  the  raised  beaches,  we  can  more 
fully  understand  the  action  of  waves  upon  the  modern  coasts,  than 
where  the  subaqueous  deposits  cannot  be  seen.  The  muds,  derived 
from  the  encroachment «  f  the  waves  upon  the  land,  are  assorted;  the 
coarser  materials  being  those  which  form  the  beaches,  and  the  finer  clay, 
that  which  constitutes  the  olf-shore  f^ilt  deposits,  leveling  up  the 
inequalities  of  the  lake  bottom  and  forming  very  flat  submerged  plains, 
which  are  rendered  apparent  upon  the  withdrawal  of  the  waters. 

In  the  examination  of  old  shores,  the  occurence  of  flat  or  very  gently 
inclining  plains,  abutting  at  constant  levels  against  rising  hills,  is  as 
certain  an  indication  of  old  coastlines  as  if  beaches  were  found  there; 
but  the  exact  height  of  the  water-line  cannot  be  recognized,  as  the 
water  may  have  been  five  or  it  may  have  been  twenty  feet  deep.  When 
this  condition  obtains,  there  may  remain  here  and  there  a  fragment  of 
a  temporary  beach  (c,  fig.  7),  covered  by  a  landslide  {s,  fig.  7),  but 
exposed  by  a  stream  or  artificial  cutting  into  the  hillside,  or  there  may 
be  a  barrier  in  front  of  an  ancient  bay  or  lagoon  ^h,  fig.  6). 


Fio.  7.— Section  showinfi  a  Cat  Terrace  with  a  frugmentjaf  Old  Beach  partly  concealed  by  a 

Landslide. 
6  =  Boulder  pavement.    c  =  Fragment  of  old  beach.    d  =  Drift,     a  =  Landslide.     w  =  01d 
water-level. 

While  the  greater  proportion  of  the  lake  coast  is  composed  of  drift 
deposits,  there  are  places  where  the  water-margins  are  bounded  by 
rocks.  Here  the  structure  is  similar,  although  not  so  well  developed, 
and  the  banks  may  assume  the  form  of  vertical  cliffs.  Generally  speak- 
ing, the  beaches  in  front  of  these  rocks  are  not  so  well  developed  as 
where  there  have  been  shore  deposits  of  boulder  clay  to  supply  the 
waves  with  pebbles.  However,  some  of  the  higher  and  older  coast- 
markings  remain  in  the  form  of  such  "  sea-cliffs,"  in  front  of  which 
there  are  comparatively  flat  plains. 


Ch ABACI  BHIbTIOS   OF   DeSERTKD   ShOBSB. 


31 


Another  structure,  when  present,  is  very  characteristic  of  many 
portions  of  the  ancient  shores,  or,  indeed,  is  occaHionally  seen  in  front 
of  the  modern  beaches.  This  is  a  pavement  of  boulders  (derived  from 
adjacent  shores  of  boulder  clay),  occupying  a  given  zone  (P,  figs  4  and  6). 
This  zone  is  in  front  of  and  a  few  feet  lower  than  the  level  of  the  true 
beach;  the  boulders  having  been  left  just  below  the  water-level  as  the 
waves  made  encroachments  upon  the  coast.  Again,  the  boulders  have 
been  more  or  less  pushed  up  to  this  line  by  the  waves  forcing  up  the 
coast- line  to  which  these  boulders  have  been  frozen.  When  these 
deposits  occur  adjacent  to  the  modern  beach,  they  may  be  seen  rising 
out  of  the  water,  but  they  are  also  found  outward  in  the  lake  to  the 
depth  of  several  feet  (figures  0  and  10,  p.  ;^8). 

In  front  of  an  elevated  shore,  the  boulders  may  be  arranged  in  the 
form  of  a  zone,  even  a  few  hundred  yards  in  width,  throughout  a 
vertical  range  of  a  few  feet,  which  may  be  increased  to  30  or  40  feet 
where  there  is  a  succession  of  beachlets  close  together,  marking  the 
gradual  recession  of  the  waters.  But  the  upper  level  of  these  zones 
never  quite  reaches  that  of  the  beaches.  In  traveling  along  a  flat 
country  these  pavements  of  boulders  are  as  certain  indicaiions  of  shore- 
lines as  are  any  other  forms  of  the  beaches  (fig.  9,  p.  38).  Boulders 
left  on  the  hillsides  by  the  action  of  rains,  washing  out  the  finer 
materials  of  the  drift  clay,  are  not  arranged  in  belts  of  symetrical  level. 
The  boulder  pavements  do  not  usually  occur  where  the  adjacent  coast 
is  not  composed  of  boulder  clay,  nor  where  the  beaches  are  separated 
from  the  land  by  what  is  now  or  has  been  a  bay  or  lagoon.  Pave- 
ments of  boulders  are  not  as  commonly  seen  in  front  of  modern  shores 
as  in  front  of  some  of  those  more  elevated  and  ancient. 

Turning  to  the  more  typical  form  of  the  beach  structure,  as  shown 
i  1  th.ti  raised  shores,  there  may  be  seen  sand  or  gravel  ridges,  most 
frequently  from  100  to  sometimes  500  feet  across,  rising  to  15  or  25 
feet  above  a  flat  or  very  gently  descending  plain,  whose  surface  is  most 
commonly  composed  of  tine  clay.  Sometimes  this  descent  is  so  very 
gradual  as  to  be  inconspicuous;  at  other  places  the  descent  is  quite 
sudden.  The  deprest-ion  behind  the  ridge  is  generally  less  than  that  in 
front  of  it,  and  here  also  the  floor  may  be  composed  of  clay.  Where 
the  beach  is  broad,  it  is  apt  to  be  broken  up  in  a  number  of  ridgelets 
{c,  fig.  3).  Indeed,  some  of  the  larger  and  more  important  beaches 
mark  the  recession  of  the  waters  by  being  separated  into  several  ridges, 
often  at  coiihiderable  distances  apart,  each  a  few  feet  below  the  preceding, 


ti 


■"  'M 


I    *I 


82 


Characteristics  of  Deserted  Shores. 


where  the  lake  floor  is  sloping  very  gently;  but  where  the  slope  is  more 
rapid,  all  unite  into  one  large  ridge.  The  beach  has  rarely  a  thickness 
of  more  than  16  or  20  feet,  and  rests  upon  the  clay  or  drift  deposits, 
which  once  constituted  the  floor  of  the  former  lake.  As  the  plain  recedes 
from  the  shore,  the  materials  become  finer  and  finer  clay  and  freer 
from  sand;  but  at  varying  distances,  of  sometimes  a  mi!e  or  more  in 
front  of  the  beaches,  there  may  be  found  thin  belts  of  sand  resting 
upon  the  lake  deposits.  Again,  the  beaches  may  take  the  form  of 
terraces  of  construction,  resting  against  clay  banks;  or  against  these 
banks  the  ridges  may  abruptly  (but  not  temporarily)  end  like  the 
modern  beaches  {b,  fig.  8). 

In  measuring  the  comparative  altitudes  of  a  beach  at  different  points 
the  summit  of  a  well  marked  ridge  should  be  chosen,  rather  than  that 
of  the  beach  in  the  form  of  a  terrace  (</,  fig.  4)  against  the  shore  or  the 
junction  of  the  coastal  plain  back  of  a  cut  terrace  (c,  fig.  1)  and  the 
bounding  hills,  as  the  exact  water-level  can  here  be  only  approximately 
determined.  It  is  more  accurate  to  make  the  calculations  as  to  the 
former  water-levels  at  the  foot  of  the  beaches,  as  the  slope  in  front 


\,--' 


Fig.  8.—  Plan  of  Barrier  Bemh  infrontof  a  lagoon  and  overlooked  by  hills. 
b=Line  of  hillg.    a=  Barrier  Beach.    The  beach  ends  abruptly  on  the  left. 


of  them  may  be  steep  in  one  place,  and  in  another  very  gentle,  but  the 
summit  ia  easily  recognized.  Where  the  beach  itself  is  absent,  by 
tracing  the  coastal  line,  there  will  be  found  sooner,  or  later,  a  bar  or 
spit  in  front  of  some  river  or  extinct  bay. 

In  ascending  from  the  modern  lakes  to  the  highlands,  several  old 
shores  must  be  crossed.  The  country  may  be  described  as  a  series  of 
terraces  or  steps,  whose  frontal  margins  are  mc  ulded  into  liills,  and 
whose  surfaces  are  plains,  most  commonly  of  clay,  although  sometimes 
of  gravel  or  sand,  at  the  back  of  which,  there  may  be  found  the  beach 
in  some  form.  These  gently  rising  terrace  plains  may  each  be  several 
miles  in  width  —  and  consequently  the  beaches  several  miles  apait  —  or 


Ch/lbAlOTEribtios  of  Debebted  Siiokrs. 


33 


iveral 
—  or 


they  may  be  narrow  with  the  beaches  close  together.  In  many  regions, 
the  old  shores  behind  these  plains  rise  ai)(l  extend  across  the  country  as 
conspicuous  ranges  of  hills.  The  plains  themselves  are  occasionally 
eroded  by  streams,  until  the  whole  country  is  very  broken.  This  is 
more  likely  to  be  the  case  with  terraces  of  the  greater  altitudes,  and 
here  the  more  recent  surface  erosion  has  often  rendered  the  ancient 
shore  lines  hard  to  follow. 

In  crossing  a  series  of  beaches,  the  lowest  is  found  to  bo  composed 
of  the  finest  gravel,  or  indeed  j)erhaps  of  sand.  In  this  case  it  is  apt 
to  be  more  or  less  heaped  into  dunes,  by  the  action  of  winds.  The 
ridges  are  often  divided,  bnt  the  branches  unite  again,  or  else  send  oiit 
spits  ending  abruptly.  Occasionally  the  materials  from  which  the 
beaches  were  formed  was  stony  sand,  in  ])lace  of  stony  clay.  Here, 
then,  the  extinct  water-margins  are  difhcult  to  determine,  for  there  is 
no  sharj)  lithological  character,  as  where  a  beach  crosses  a  clay  plain  — 
to  mark  the  boundary  between  the  smd  beach,  comraotdy  heaped 
into  hummocks  or  dunes,  and  the  frontal  i)lain  compose*.'  of  sand. 

Many  of  the  upper  beaches  overlie  drift  tleposits,  bnt  those  of  the 
lower  elevations  are  more  likely  to  rest  upon  stratified  clay  —  the  sedi- 
ments carried  into  the  deeper  waters  whilst  the  lakes  were  at  higher 
altitudes.  The  character  of  the  materials  underlying  the  beaches  is 
commonly  the  same  as  that  forming  the  surface  of  the  plain  in  front  of 
the  ridges;  but  its  structurrf  is  best  shown  in  sections  exposed  by  the 
subsequent  erosion  where  streams  cutting  through  the  ridges  cross  the 
plain.  When  such  streams  have  been  large  rivers,  as  has  often  been 
the  case,  there  may  be  some  trouble  in  tracing  the  continuity  of  the 
beach,  especially  across  a  broken  country,  as  a  portion  of  the  valley 
may  be  older  than  the  beach,  which  may  swing  around  and  skirt  the 
embayment,  or  form  a  bar  across  it.  Or  again,  the  beach  may  be  only 
represented  by  conical  or  other  shaped  sand  or  gravel  hills,  which  were 
delta  deposits  at  the  mouth  of  former  rivers.  Such  delta  deposits 
may  not  rise  to  the  level  of  the  former  body  of  water. 

With  the  varying  conditions  here  sot  forth,  which  the  shore-lin^ 
undergo,  the  traveler,  in  coasting  around  the  old  lakes,  can  rarely  pro 
ceed  more  than  a  few  miles  without  meeting  obstructions.  When  the 
beaches  were  a  considerable  distance  apart,  with  perhaps  only  60  or 
100  feet  of  difference  in  their  altitudes,  there  is  a  liability  of  get- 
ting off  one  series  and  upon  another.  Consequently  it  is  often  neces- 
sary to  resort  to  accurate  leveling,  allowing  for  reasonable  variations 

5 


I 


ij' 


I 


it'>i 


I 


84 


ClIARACTEBISTICS   OF    DESERTEn   ShOREB. 


in  the  height  of  tlie  beach,  and  tlie  differential  elevation  of  the  region, 
since  the  waters  have  receded  from  the  former  shoren. 

In  some  regions  the  former  expansions  of  the  lakes  were  occupied  by 
archipelagoes.  Consequently,  there  is  an  absence  of  continuous 
beaches,  and  the  explorer  must  depend  upon  following  the  plain,  which 
formerly  constituted  the  lake  floor,  finding  here  atid  there  a  fragment 
of  the  ancient  beach,  either  upon  the  coast  of  the  mainland  or  upon  that 
of  an  island.  Here  again,  it  may  be  necessary  to  resort  to  accurate 
leveling  to  identify  the  beaches. 

Whilst  steep  coast-lines  may  be  followed  through  wooded  regions, 
it  is  most  dirticult  to  trace  satisfactorily  a  beach  across  such  a  country. 
The  greatest  difficulties  are  found  where  the  ancient  beaches  enter 
regions  that  are  composed  of  hills  of  crystalline  rocks,  more  or  less 
wooded,  and  interspersed  with  numerous  lakelets.  In  such  places  there 
are  numerous  gravel  hills  wh«se  relationship  to  the  old  shores  is  not 
readily  discernable . 

In  some  places  the  surface  of  the  beaches  is  composed  of  nearly  clean 
gravel  or  sand;  elsewhere,  from  some  admixture  of  cla^',  it  becomes 
more  or  less  earthy  soil,  to  a  depth  of  two  or  four  feet,  somewhat 
ob8s:uring  the  beach  structure.  Again,  there  may  be  coarse  stones 
resting  upon  its  surface,  as  if  these  hid  been  forced  up  after  the  beach 
had  been  formed,  by  a  slight  rise  of  the  waters,  or  by  the  action  of 
coast-ice,  pushing  them  up.  However,  these  must  not  be  mistaken  for 
the  more  ancient  gravel  beaches,  covered  with  drift,  such  as  frequently 
exist,  and  will  be  described  elsewhere. 

The  beaches,  in  the  form  of  narrow  belts  of  gravel  or  sand,  crossing 
a  flat  country,  were  in  many  places  used  as  trails  by  the  Indian 
aborigines,  and  in  some  places  these  trails  have  been  turned  into  roads, 
as  they  are  always  dry  during  the  muddy  seasons.  These  ridge  roads 
have  attracted  attention  as  ancient  beaches  for  nearly  a  century.  But 
the  water  long  since  withdrew  from  them  owing  to  the  elevation  of 
the  continent,  which  has  been  accompanied  by  their  distortion  from 
the  water  plain,  on  account  of  an  increasing  rise  to  the  north  and  east. 

The  great  geological  value  of  investigating  the  raised  and  ancient 
coastlines  lies,  not  only  in  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  former  expan- 
sions of  the  lakes  and  their  relationship  to  each  other,  but  particularly 
in  being  able  to  make  use  of  them,  as  old  water-levela  in  order  to 
measure  the  amount  of  deformation  or  warping  of  the  earth's  surface 
<5aused  by  terrestrial  movements,  resulting  in  the  development  of  the 
basins  of  the  lakes  themselves,  and   other  features.      While  the  old 


Boulder  Pavbhbnts. 


3.5 


shore-linea  record  a  great  amount   of   unequal   terrcHtrial   moveinentB, 
yet  these  moveraentH  have  also  left  records  in  the  older  sea  cliffs. 

BOUI-DKB    1*AVEMKN18    AND    FrINOBS. 

In  many  localities  of  the  northern  part  of  our  continent,  the  land 
surf.ices  are  almost  covered  with  loose  boulders,  varying  from  the  size 
of  cobble  stones  to  masses  commonly  three  or  four  feet  long.  Oooa- 
sionaliy  the  blocks  have  a  length  of  eight  feet,  but  rarely  longer. 
While  some  of  the  boulders  are  angular  block*  of  Paleozoic  limestones 
and  pundstones  of  local  oiigin,  a  great  proportion  are  Archtean 
rocks,  which  have  been  transported  from  the  Canadian  highlands, 
north  of  the  great  lakes,  to  distances  of  sometimes  300  or  400  miles. 
These  crystalline  rocks,  although  so  hard  and  compact,  have  the  angu- 
larities invariably  removed.  Blocks  are  frequently  seen  at  altitudes  of 
hundreds  of  feet  above  their  original  sources.  Throughout  the  lake 
region,  and  the  country  north  of  the  line  of  the  southern  limit  of  the 
drift,  which  is  often  fringed  with  them,  the  accumulation  of  boulders 
is  not  uniformly  distributed.  The  country  enclosed  by  that  line  is 
occupied  by  sheets  and  ridges  of  drift  materials,  through  which  the 
subjacent  rocks  occasionally  ])rotrude.  Again,  these  plains  and  hills 
have  their  surfaces  moulded  by  the  action  of  the  waves  of  vanished 
seas  or  shrunken  lakes,  often  fashioning  the  region  into  a  suc- 
cession of  broad  terrace  flats  and  hilly  coast  lines.  It  is  upon 
the  surfaces  of  these  moulded  features  that  the  boulders  are 
found.  Whilst  there  are  vast  areas  where  there  is  not  a  single 
stone  to  be  seen,  and  others  where  only  an  occasional  block  occurs,  as 
dropped  down  from  some  meteoric  source,  there  are  other  localities 
literally  so  covered  with  large  boulders  as  to  prevent  agricultural  pur- 
suits. These  boulder  accumulations  are  superficial  and  do  not  pene- 
trate the  subjacent  earths.  They  occur  along  certain  zones,  outside  of 
which  they  are  not  found. 

The  presence  of  these  surface  boulder  accumulations  has  been  most 
commonly  explained  alike  by  those  who  believe  in  the  glacial  origin  of 
the  drift  and  those  who  do  not,  as  having  been  dropped  by  melting 
icebergs  at  the  close  of  the  drift  epoch.  A  few  glacialists  regard 
these  boulders  as  having  been  deposited  from  glaciers  where  they  now 
rest.  It  has  also  b^en  hinted  that  they  have  been  left  upon  the  hills, 
as  the  finer  materials  of  the  boulder  drift  have  been  washed  away  by 
atmospheric  agencies;  but  it  was  only  since  the  recent  systematic 
studies  of  the  high-level  beaches,  compared  with  modern  lake  shores, 
have  been  made  that  the  natural  explanation  of  boulder  pavements 
and  distribution  of  erratics  become  possible. 


M 


I  I 


h  h 


86 


Boulder  Pavemkntb. 


There  are  three  conditions  under  which  boiihU^r  nccumiilationH  are 
found.  The  nioht  important  in  wliere  the  boiilderH  form  jtavenu-ntH 
Htretc!hinj»  as  beltH  across  a  hsvcl  country,  unually  in  front  of  ridges 
wliicli  once  constituted  ohl  sh*>re-lines,  or  forniinj^  zones  of  stones  rest- 
ing upon  hillsides  or  capping  the  summits  of  ridgfs.  Of  less 
importance  is  the  occurrence  of  blocks  scattered  sparsely  and  irregu- 
larly on  the  sides  of  hills.  liasily,  occasionally  erratics  are  found  alike 
over  the  hilly  and  over  the  flat  country.  'J  hat  the  boulders  were 
brought  from  their  original  sources  in  the  later  Pleistocene  dajs  and 
dropped  by  either  icebergs  or  glaci«'rs  wlufre  we  now  find  them  is  an 
untenable  hypoihisis,  for  their  birth  jtlaces  are  now  often  covered  with 
the  older  drift  or  are  hundreds  of  feet  below  the  elevations  where  they 
are  now  found.  The  relation  of  the  bouhlers  to  the  oliler  drift  are 
Buch  that  the  erratics  can  commonly  bo  recognized  as  of  secondary 
origin,  being  derived  from  the  earlier  acrcunmlations  of  bouhler  clay  or 
sand.  The  maimer  in  which  the  blocks  have  been  brought  to  the 
surface  has  been  by  the  removal  of  the  finer  earths  from  the  drift, 
principally  by  the  .action  of  the  waves  or  currents  encroaching  upon 
the  hills  or  ridges  of  such  materials,  charged  with  occasion.al  boulders. 
Thus  the  coast-line  has  been  moulded  into  steep  shores,  in  front  of 
which  there  are  the  gently  descending  plains,  once  submerged  —  the 
floors  of  terraces  since  the  recosion  (»f  the  waters  (figs.  4  and  5). 

1  bus  the  boulders  throughout  the  whole  thickness  of  the  drift, 
which  were  too  large  for  transportation  by  the  waves,  were  reduced  to 
water-level  and  were  accumulated  upon  the  floor  in  the  form  of  pave- 
ments or  fringes  along  the  former  water  ijiargins.  'Vhe  removal  of 
the  earth  beneath  the  boulders  continued  until  they  had  settled  to  the 
maximum  depth  of  wave  action  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  for  a^ 
greater  depths  the  fine  earth  would  not  have  bten  removed  from 
beneath  the  ston*  s.  The  vertical  range  of  the  fringes  is  from  15  to 
25  feet  or  more  when  the  recession  of  the  former  waters  was  gradual, 
leaving  a  close  succession  of  beaches.  The  width  of  the  pavenjcnts 
varies  from  a  few  hundred  feet  to  perhaps  a  half  a  mile,  according  as 
the  Siope  is  somewhat  steep  or  very  gradual.  Where  the  finer 
materials  were  entirely  washed  out  into  deeper  water,  then  the  margins 
of  the  plains,  at  the  foot  of  the  old  coast  line,  are  simply  fringed  with 
boulders;  but  where  the  finer  materials  were  assorted  by  the  waves  and 
currents,  the  sands  and  gravels  have  been  formed  into  beaches,  usually 
a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  and  behind  the  boulder  belt. 


tioiiH  are 
avi'tnt'iitrt 
of  ri<lge« 
Diies  rcHt- 

Of     IfHH 

1(1  irr«'j^u- 
ttiiid  iiliko 
Uts  were 
«la}H  and 
lein  is  ail 
■ored  with 
k'here  tliey 

drift  are 
Hecondary 
ler  clay  or 
rht  to  the 

the  drift, 
liinj^  upon 
I  bouldiTH. 
n  front  of 
viivd  —  the 
J  5). 

the  drift, 
reduced  to 
tn  of  pave- 
icrnoval  of 
tied  to  the 
Iter,  for  at 
oved  from 
from  15  to 
as  gradual, 

pavements 
ccording  as 
e  the  finer 
the  margins 
ringed  with 
e  waves  and 
ihes,  usually 


i      P 


Duration  of   Niagara   Falls 


w  I 


FIG  9. -MODERN  BOULDER  PAVEMENT  ON  GEORGIAN  BAY, 

NEAR     THE    END   OF    BLUE    MOUNTAINS   OF  COLLINQWOOD,    ONT. 


FIQ.  10.  ANCIENT  BOULDER  PAVEMENT  OF  ALGONQUIN  BEACH, 

WHOSE  CHi:sT  UISKS  189  I'KKT  AllUVK  OKOUdlAN  HAY  I'l'ON  THE  N  .  K.  SIliK  of  HI. I  I:  Mill  XTAIN.s  <)K 

COIXLNOWOOD,  ONT. 


CoA8T-l0B. 


37 


But  the  story  of  the  boukler  pavements  and  fringes  is  not  yet  com- 
plete. Coast  ice  lias  also  played  an  important  part  in  the  arrangement 
of  the  paving  stones.  The  waves,  acting  upon  the  coast-ice  wherein 
boulders  have  been  entangled,  cause  the  stones  to  be  forced  up  into 
more  regular  zones,  as  to  height,  than  wouKl  be  affected  by  the 
residuary  deposition  alone,  as  just  described.  Blocks  of  large  size  can 
thus  be  moved,  not  merely  by  the  heaving  action  of  modern  frosts, 
but  bj'-  the  action  of  coast-ice  itnelf ;  for  boulders  upon  the  margins  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  river,  weighing  70  tons,  are  known  to  have  been 
shifted  by  the  sjiring  movements  of  a  winter's  ice.  Again,  the  writer 
has  seen  upon  some  of  the  shores  of  Shoal  lake,  in  Manitoba,  situated 
in  a  flat  drift-covered  country,  modern  beaches  composed  of  huge 
boulders,  piled  u))  by  the  waves  of  the  lake  acting  u])on  the  ice  in 
which  the  stones  were  enclosed,  as  otherwise  blocks  f(jur  or  six  feet 
long  could  not  be  gathered  from  the  shores  of  the  lake  and  accumu- 
lated into  beach  ridges,  nor  could  they  have  been  residuil  pavements 
as  above  described,  for  no  high  shores  of  boulder  clay  occur  into 
which  the  waves  could  have  made  encroachments. 

An  excellent  illustration  of  tlie  modern  formation  of  boulder  pave- 
ments and  fringes  may  be  seen  upon  the  shores  of  Georgian  bay, 
between  Thornbury  and  Coliingwood,  as  shown  in  Plate  II,  fig.  9. 
There  the  lake  waves  are  encroaching  upon  a  shore  composed  of 
boulder  clay.  The  larger  stones  standing  out  in  the  water  are  too 
heavy  to  be  materially  affected  by  the  waves  or  ice  action.  Excellent 
illustrations  of  boulder  zones  are  found  a  short  distance  from  this 
locality,  at  an  elevation  of  187  feet  above  the  lake,  as  shown  in 
Plate  11,  fig.  10. 

Other  examples  of  fringes  of  boulders  high  above  an}'  modern 
waters  may  be  seen  a  few  miles  beyond  the  eastern  end  of  Lake 
Ontario.  The  same  is  true  upon  the  northern  side  of  the  lake,  as  for 
example,  back  of  Trenton  and  westward;  these  are  parts  of  and  in 
front  of  the  finer  gravels  of  an  old  beach,  now  more  than  400  feet 
above  the  lake.  Westward  of  Toronto,  where  the  old  shores  are  of 
Paleozoic  rocks,  in  jtlace  of  drift,  the  boulder  pavements  disappear 
from  the  front  of  the  beach. 

Upon  the  steep  hillsides,  as  long  the  Mahonmg  valley,  near  the 
crossing  of  the  Ohio-Pennsylvania  line,  there  are  zones  thickly  covered 
with  boulders.  There  we  find  the  records  of  old  water-margins,  as 
well  as  in  the  pavements  associated  with  the  well  marked  beaches 
and  shore-cliffs  facing  the  lake  basins.      The  finer  materials  have  been 


4 


li 


w 


i' 


38 


High  Level  Gravel  Deposits 


washed  out  of  the  associated  drift  to  form  bars,  in  the  valley,  which 
was  once  filled  with  water.  On  some  of  the  higher  hills  between 
the  Bouihern  part  of  Georgian  bay  and  Lake  Huron,  to  the  west,  the 
tops  of  ridgts  are  covered  with  boulder  pavements.  These  ridges  were 
islands  in  a  former  expanded  lake  or  sea,  whose  surfaces  were 
encroached  ujjon  by  the  waves,  until  they  were  reduced  to  partially 
submerged  reefs  covered  with  great  erratic  blocks,  as  the  finer  mud 
was  borne  into  deep  water.  That  these  were  island  shores  may  be  seen 
from  the  boulder  covered  ridges,  although  miles  apart,  being  reduced 
to  a  common  altitude. 

On  the  hillsides,  behind  the  fringes,  there  are  only  here  and  there 
irregularly  deposited  blocks  t  xposed  by  the  action  of  rains.  Besides, 
the  meteoric  effects  upon  any  of  the  hills  are  small,  compared  with  the 
encroachments  of  the  waves,  in  exposing  enough  stones  to  make 
boulder  pavements. 

The  occasional  erratic  blocks  often  repo-  ing  upon  fine  lacustrine 
deposits  are  of  little  importance,  and  indicate  only  an  a-icasional  stone 
entangled  in  old  coasl-ice  from  an  adjacent  shore,  when  the  region  was 
Covered  with  water,  just  as  the  boulders  resting  upon  the  sunken  ships 
in  the  mouth  of  the  Baltic  have  been  deposited  from  the  coast-ice 
moving  out  of  the  sea. 

The  study  of  the  relation  of  the  pavements  of  boulders  to  beaches 
set  at  rest  the  speculation  upon  the  origin  of  these  fringes,  and  obviates 
the  nece'^sity  for  appealing  to  either  icebergs  or  glaciers  in  later  Pleis- 
tocene days  to  account  for  the  erratics  popularly  called  "hard  head?," 
which  are  scattered  over  the  country  in  the  form  of  pavements  or 
fringes ;  for  these  are  mostly  seen  only  where  they  can  now 
be  referred  to  some  old  coast  line,  or  a  succession  of  shore  lines, 
acted  upon,  in  former  days,  by  frost  and  coast-ice. 

High-Levkl  Gravel  Deposits  in  the  Region  of  the  Great  Lakes. 

Rather  than  rummage  through  the  talus  heaps  of  geological  literature 
for  the  different  kinds  of  gravel  deposits  which  may  represent  beach 
structure,  it  is  easier  to  go  into  the  field  of  observation  and  investigate 
those  forms  which  may  be  modified  beaches,  or  be  related  to,  or 
be  mistaken  for  them.  This  method  is  the  more  satisfactory,  as 
in  geological  literature  different  forms  are  confounded,  and  others 
are  left  unnoticed,  or  not  considered  in  the  light  of  the  present  investi- 
gation. The  object  of  this  chapter  is  to  describe  the  various  kinds  of 
gravel  deposits,  which  resemljle  or  are  related  to  beach  structure,  and 
not  to  consider  their  occasionally  doubtful  origin  or  distribution.  Exclu- 
sive of  the  beds  of  sand,  which  are  intimately  connected  with  the  strati- 


BcBiED  Beaches. 


39 


tied  clays,  or  included  in  the  drift  accumulations  themselves,  and  the 
ancient  shores  already  described,  the  following  groups  of  gravels 
and  Hands  should  be  noticed,  some  of  which  are  covered  with  the  etony 
clay  of  the  upper  till: 

A.  The  gravels  and  sands  which  are  hurled  beneath  the  upper  drift 
deposits. — These  may  be  divided  into  («)  buried  beaches  ;  and  {b)  more 
or  less  irregular  beds  and  ridges  of  gravel  and  sand,  often  of  earthy 
texture,  having  a  more  or  less  tumultuous  structure,  and  resting 
beneath  accumulations  of  the  upper  till. 

B.  Surface  accurmdations  of  gravels  and  sands,  forming  ridges^ 
mounds  and  plains. — These  are  in  the  form  of  (a)  the  so-called  osars 
and  kames;  (b)  other  ridges  and  mounds  resembling  the  last,  but  having 
a  position  corresponding  to  that  of  beaches,  in  front  of  more  elevated 
plains  or  drift  hills,  or  of  the  accumulations  included  in  group  A  b  • 
and  (c)  gravel  plains 

A  a. — Hitherto,  the  buried  beaches  have  not  been  distinguished  from 
other  beds  of  gravel  and  sand  intercalated  witliin  the  drift  formations. 
As  such  accumulations,  whose  structure  is  the  same  as  that  of  modern 
beaches,  are  only  exposed  in  sections  cut  through  the  surface  deposits 
by  streams  or  artificial  excavations,  all  of  the  knowledge  that  we  can, 
at  present,  hope  to  acquire,  is  the  recognition  that  there  were  beaches, 
now  covered  by  drift,  older  than  those  upon  the  surface  of  the  country. 
When  beds  of  gravel  and  sand  are  met  with  in  borings,  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  distinguish  those  which  are  buried  beaches  from  others 
which  are  intercalated  with  drift  deposits.  The  structure  of  the  buried 
beaches  does  not  show  that  tumultuous  crumpling,  so  commonly  seen  in 
the  next  kind  of  accumulations  (A  b).  In  some  places  the  gravels  are  found 
cemented  into  conglomerates.  Thin  lajers  of  stony  clay,  constituting 
the  uj)per  till,  which  covers  vast  areas  of  the  country  throughout  the 
lake  region,  often  rest  comformably  upon  the  undisturbed  surfaces 
of  the  buried  beaches,  that  may  have  a  thickness  of  twenty  feet  or  more. 
Excellent  examples  of  buried  beaches  may  be  seen  along  the  Au 
Sable  river,  southeast  of  Lake  Huron,  where  the  overlying  drift  clay  is 
only  four  or  six  feet  thick.  When  the  covering  is  thin,  there  is 
a  liability  of  mistaking  these  older  beds  for  those  belonging  to  the 
beach  epoch  j)roper. 

\  b. —  The  internal  structure  of  this  kind  of  gravel  and  sand  depo^it8 
shows  stratification,  which  may  be  regular  in  one  place,  but  the  beds 
soon  become  tumultuous,  that  is,  the  beds  become  ii  regular,  bent  or 
twidted,  and  confused.     The  materials  are  apt  to  be  somewhat  earthy 


m 


31; 

I  i;1 


^ 
^  t 


40 


Sdpekfioial  Gbavels. 


Throughout  these  layers  there  may  occur  occasional  boulders  of  large 
size,  and  pockets  of  gravel,  whose  outlines  resemble  those  of  boulders 
(as  if  the  gravel  had  been  cemented  into  masses  by  frost  and  then 
moulded  into  boulders,  and  afterwards  deposited  in  the  frozen  state.) 
By  the  characters  just  given,  these  accumulations  can  be  readily  dis- 
tinguished from  those  of  true  beaches.  They  are  commonly  overlaid 
by  a  few  feet  (perhaps  10  or  20)  of  stony  clay  or  other  materials  of 
the  upper  till.  Occasionally  the  covering  may  reach  several  times  this 
thickness. 

The  external  form  of  these  deposits,  with  their  clay  mantle  (which 
last  is  dependent  upon  the  form  of  the  underlying  gravels),  may  be 
thvt  of  undulating  plains,  or  these  undulations  rising  to  the  magnitude 
of  ridges  and  hils.  In  this  case,  the  ridges  rise  in  suc.ession  one 
above  the  other,  until  they  reach  an  altitude  of  100  feet,  or  even  niore, 
above  the  plains  which  are  commonly  in  front  of  thom.  They  may 
occupy  a  breadth  of  several  miles  across  the  country.  The  ends  of  the 
ridges  often  overlap,  and  at  other  times  Suud  out  spurs,  and  inclose 
kettle-like  depressions,  which  are  liable  to  be  confounded  with  or  not 
separated  from  those  of  the  next  group.  These  ridges  occur  asso- 
ciated with  some  of  the  so-called  moraines  '  f  America.  These 
slightly  covered  sand  and  gravel  deposits  are  not  so  commor.ly  devel- 
opt  d  below  the  altitude  of  700  feet  above  the  sea  as  at  higher  eleva- 
tions, for  the  lower  country  is  more  apt  to  consist  of  terraces,  cut  in 
the  drift,  and  of  silt  deposits  and  beaches  But  these  accumu- 
lations cap  the  ridges  of  ;the  great  chain  named  the  Oak  hills,  which 
extend  for  over  100  miles  in  length,  parallel  to  the  northern  side  of 
Lake  Ontario,  at  an  elevation  of  from  900  to  1,200  feet  above  the  sea. 
Farther  west,  such  are  also  the  capping  materials  of  the  country,  which 
is  1,T00  feet  above  the  sea.  The  same  holds  true  for  Michigan  and 
other  States. 

D. —  The  gravels  of  this  group  are  not  only  well  water- worn  but  also 
well  washed  and  free  from  earthy  matter.  Indeed,  they  are  sometimes 
free  from  the  finer  sand.  The  pebbles  are  often  coarser  than  in  the 
lower  beaches,  in  some  cases  foroaing  accumulations  of  almost  cobble 
stones.  There  are  occisional  boulders  in  the  mass,  but  these  are  more 
common  upon  the  surface.  The  materials  are  mostly  of  local  origin, 
with  a  small  proportion  of  transported  crystalline  stones.  None  of  the 
materials  have  been  derived  directly  from  the  subjacent  Paleozoic 
rocks,  but  secondarily  from  the  assortratnt  of  the  stony  boulder  clays. 
The  gravels,  with  their  accompanying  beds  of  sand,  when  these  are 
present,  are  stratitied  as  in  beaches,  without  anything  of  the  tumultuous 
structure  of  the  last  group.     Still,  there  may  be  a  false  bedding,  as  in 


OsARS   AND   KaMBS. 


41 


beaches;  and  when  the  deposits  assume  the  form  of  ridges,  the  layers 
may  dip  in  opposite  directions,  ^,  in  barrier  beaches.  The  materials 
of  this  group  are  never  covered  with  drift  deposits,  but  often  rest 
upon  the  till,  or  against  hills  of  the  tumultuous  accumulations  already 
described.  In  external  form,  the  gravel  deposits  differ  greatly,  and  it 
is  upon  this  character  that  they  are  divided  into  the  three  series. 

B  a.  Osars  and  Kames. —  The  osars  (Anglicized  from  the  Swedish 
word  asar,  meaning  gravel  hills)  being  the  term  in  America  applied  to 
very  narrow  gravel  ridges  (often  only  a  few  score  yards  in  width  at 
the  base)  or  chains  of  mounds,  winding  in  a  more  or  less  serpentine 
manner  across  a  comparatively  flat  country,_above  which  they  rise  at 
nearly  as  steep  angles  as  the  loose  material  will  stand  to  a  height  of  40 
or  60  feet.  Thej--  are  also  defined  as  generally  extending  from  a 
higher  to  a  lower  countr}'  and  following  the  course  of  the  greater  val- 
leys —  that  is,  at  right  angles  to  the  coast  lines.  A  beautiful  example 
of  an  osar,  as  above  described,  is  to  1,0  seen  southeast  of  Lansing, 
Michigan.  It  trends  into  an  inlet  among  the  hills,  oblique  to  the  gen- 
eral direction  of  the  ancient  coast.  Driving  along  the  top  of  the  ridge, 
which  is  scarcely  wider  than  the  r\ad,  it  is  seen  to  be  composed  of 
constantly  and  suddenly  alternaving  stretches,  each  quie  level,  the  one 
Bet  being  about  25  feet  above  the  other.  These  so  called  osars  form  a 
very  limited  proportion  of  the  gravel  ridges  of  this  group. 

The  term  karae  (the  Scotch  vernacular  for  gravel  hill),  according  to 
its  Mse  in  America,  is  described  by  Chamberlin  a?  "assemblages  of 
conical  hills  and  short  irregular  ridges  of  discordantly  stratified  gravel; 
between  which  are  irregular  depressions  and  symmetrical  bowl  si. aped 
hollows  that  give  to  the  whole  a  peculiar,  tumultuous,  billowy 
aspect.  *  *  *  These  irregular  accumulations  are,  however,  more 
abundant  in  connection  with  deep,  rapidly  descending  valleys,  being 
especially  abundant  where  they  are  joined  by  tributaries  or  where  they 
make  a  hharp  turn  in  open  portions  of  their  valleys,  and  especially 
where  they  debouch  into  an  open  plainer  country.  In  such  instances 
they  are  usually  associated  with  gravel  terraces  and  plains.  Precisely 
similar  accumulations  are  very  common  associates,  if  not  constituents, 
of  terminal  moraines.  *  *  *  They  are  transverse  to  the  slope  of 
the  surface,  the  course  of  the  valleys  and  the  direction  of  the  drift 
movement."*  From  observation  in  nature,  as  also  from  the  descrip- 
tion itself,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  term  kame  is  not  specifically  used, 
and  that  different  kinds  of  gravel  deposits  are  grouped  under  the  same 
name.  Indeed,  from  the  above  description,  the  term  might  be  better 
applied  to  some  of  the  deposits  described  above  under  group  A  b,  whicL 


■f 


111 

i 


*  Ihtrd  Annual  Report  of  the  U.  8.  Qeologlcal  Survey,  1883,  p.  800. 


•J  f 


42 


Gravel  Ridges. 


f 
i 


are  more  or  less  covered  w!th  clay.  However,  there  are  conical  and 
tapering  ridges  in  many  localities  without  a  tumultuous  structure, 
whose  relations  to  each  other  are  not  easily  discernable,  that  may  be 
placed  here  under  the  name  of  kame.  Some  of  the  kames  in  the  val- 
leys are  doubtless  river  deposits,  and  others  are  the  remains  of  uncov- 
ered buried  beaches  of  greater  age,  exposed  by  subsequent  erosion. 

BJ. —  The  internal  structure  of  this  series  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
other  members  of  the  group.  The  external  form  is  that  of  intermit- 
tent ridges,  sometimes  rising  to  sixty  feet  above  a  frontal  subaqueous 
coastal  plain  which  is  occupying  the  position  as  in  front  of  a  beach. 
The  ridges  may  be  re})laced  by  cones,  resembling  delta  deposits.  The 
ridges  are  often  scarcely  less  direct  and  scarcely  more  broken  or  more 
varying  in  height  tl  an  beaches,  especially  when  the  subsequent  erosion 
and  unequal  elevation,  ciustd  by  terrestrial  movements  pince  the  gravels 
were  deposited,  is  taken  into  account.  The  ridges  are  often  found  to 
divide  and  enclose  kettle  like  depressions,  sometimes  dry  and  some- 
times containing  ponds  or  lakelets,  just  like  similar  depressions  along 
modern  beaches,  but  on  a  lai'ger  scale.  Branches  ind  spurs  add  to  the 
undulating  appearance  of  the  country.  In  front  of  these  hills  the 
plains  may  be  covered  with  gravel.  It  is  very  difficult  not  to  see  in 
these  ridges  the  remains  of  beaches  belonging  to  former  shore-lines. 
A  single  ridge  of  this  character  occurs  behind  a  plain  just  north  of 
Stouffville,  Ontario,  rising  to  a  height  of  75  feet  above  the  plain, 
which  is  about  1,100  feet  above  the  sea.  This  deposit  rests  against 
another  and  somewhat  larger  ridge  of  sand  and  gravel  belonging  to 
group  Ab.  Again,  within  a  distance  of  14  miles,  stretching  northwest- 
ward from  a  point  near  Flesherton  (shown  in  fig.  11),  there  are  three 
steps,  each  in  the  form  of  a  slightly  undulating  plain,  often  paved 
with  gravel,  bounded  by  just  such  hills  of  gravel  as  are  here  described. 
These  marginal  ridges  are  much  indented  with  kettle  depressions 
{k,  k,  fig.  11),  and  are  somewhat  beneatlji  the  level  of  well-marked 


Fia.  11  —  Section  extending  northward  from  Flesherton. 

b  —  Boulder  pavement,    g,  g     Ridges  of  Artemisia  gravel.    A-,  k  —  depressions  behind  the 
gravel  ridges. 


Abtsmisia  Ghavelb. 


43 


terraces,  as  if  a  somewhat  off-shore  deposit.  The  elevation  of  the  coun- 
try above  the  (ca,  descenrls  from  1,600  to  1,200  feet.  The  ridges 
{fft  fff  fig'  11)  border  a  mass  of  land  that  was  rising  out  of,  probably,  the 
sea.  The  beach-like  character  of  these  accumulations  is  further 
brought  out  by  the  occurrence  of  zones  of  bouloer  pavements  at  levels 
below  and  immediately  in  front  of  the  ridges  (6,  fig.  11).  These 
boulder  pavements,  which  do  not  enter  the  mass  of  the  drift  but  only 
rest  upon  its  surface,  are  too  characteristic  of  the  action  of  waves  cut- 
ting into  stony  drift  and  of  the  accompanying  action  of  coast-ice  not 
to  be  regarded  here  as  additional  evidence  of  the  coastal  formation 
of  the  surface  gravel  ridges,  described  in  this  paragraph. 

"Artemisia  gravel"  is  a  name  applied  by  the  Canadian  Geoleogical 
Survey  to  the  gravels  covering  an  area  of  2,000  square  miles  of  the 
highest  land  in  Ontario,  between  the  three  lakes,  Huron,  Erie  and 
Ontario,  rising  in  places  to  1,700  feet  above  the  sea.  But  at  that 
early  date,  geologists  did  not  differentuate  the  various  gravel  accumula- 
tions. Indeed,  the  whole  work  upon  the  drift  of  Ontario  was  only 
pioneering,  and  now  being  somewhat  antiquated  and  generalized, 
it  needs  to  be  revised  and  differentiated  by  modern  investigations. 
Thus  the  term  Artemisia  includes  sand,  gravel,  and  even  upper  till 
deposits  (the  last,  although  occupying  thousands  of  miles  of  the 
surface  of  the  Province,  was  not  formerly  ideutified)  of  all  kinds  and 
ages  mentioned  in  this  chapter  and  in  that  on  beaches.  However,  it 
was  the  accumulation  of  the  gravels  described  in  this  group  Bb,  in  the 
township  of  Artemisia,  that  gave  the  name  which  was  extended  over 
such  a  wide  range  of  materials  and  geological  time  as  if  all  were  one 
formation.  At  most  the  term  should  be  restricted  to  the  ridges  occu- 
pying the  position  of  very  high-level  beaches,  just  described. 

Br.—  Gravel  plains  are  ocmnion  in  front  of  such  high-level  ridges 
as  have  been  last  described,  representing  the  subaqueous  floors  when 
the  waves  beat  upon  the  old  shores.  Some  of  them,  however,  may  be 
the  floors  of  terraces  cut  into  the  older  gravel  deposits.  The  plains 
are  often  very  deeply  eroded,  owing  to  the  high  elevation  of  the  coun- 
try and  the  long  action  of  meteoric  agencies  upon  the  incoherent  mate- 
rials. Thu«,  there  sometim«  s  remain  of  these  plains  only  a  succession 
of  ridges,  between  ravines  deeply  excavated  by  the  numerous  streams 
and  floods.  Such  plains  occur  in  the  typical  region  of  the  Artemisia 
gravel  in  Ontario,  in  Michigan,  and  in  other  States. 


I. 


1 1  i| 


ft  n\ 


■  U 

hv. 


I  1: 


CHAPTER     IV.* 


Deformation  of  the   Iroquois  Beach  and  Birth  of  Lake 

Ontario,  t 

Ui'ON  receding  from  the  lake  and  ascending  the  high  country  which 
bounds  the  Ontario  basin,  an  observer  is  attracted  to  the  wonderfully 
plain  shore-lines  which  record  the  former  expansion  of  the  waters.  The 
terracep,  beaches,  scarps,  and  spits  aiross  the  mouths  of  valleys  clearly 
represent  the  deserted  shores.  But  they  are  no  longer  horizontal  lines 
as  when  laid  down  at  the  level  of  the  former  waters.  As  distinctive 
features,  the  beaches  were  so  striking  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
aborigines,  who  used  them  as  trails  across  an  otherwise,  sometimes, 
muddy  country.  The  early  white  settlers,  in  turn,  used  them  as  high 
ways  and  hence  we  find  the  "lidge  roads"  about  Ontario  as  well  as 
about  the  upper  lakes.  But  the  recognition  of  the  shore-like  characters 
of  the  raised  beaches,  by  the  early  writers,];  did  not  contribute  much  to 
the  solution  of  the  lake  history. 

Nearly  fifty  years  ago,  Professor  James  Hall  observed  that  the 
beaches  of  New  York  were  not  horizontal.  But  Mr.  G.  K.  Gilbert  was 
the  first  who  connected  and  measured  the  deformation  of  the  beaches 
upon  the  southern  and  eastern  margins  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  writer 
upon  the  Canadian  side  of  the  lake  to  beyond  Trenton,  whence  the 
same  beach  swings  around  towards  the  north  aud  passes  into  a  broken 
country.  The  writer  has  further  carried  the  survey  of  the  same  be^ch 
to  the  northeastern  portion  of  the  Adirondacks. 

There  are  wide-spread  remains  of  old  shore-lines  at  altitudes  so  high 
above   Lake   Ontario,   as  to  indicate  that  the  same  sheet  of  wator 


•  Reprinted  from  Auer.  Joui^.  Bci.,  Vol.  XL,  pp.  413-451,  Dec.  1890. 

tTbeforerunner  of  this  paper— "The  Iroquois  Beach,  a  chapter  ir  the  GeolOKical  History       i 
of  Lalco  Ontario"— was  first  read  before  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Washington,  January, 
1888,  Froc.  Phil.  Sec.  for  1888,  and  was  subsrquently  amplified  and  published  in  full  in  the  Trans' 
actions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada  for  1889. 

t  For  reference  to  early  writers,  see  "Iroquois  Beach,"  etc..  Transactions  Royal  Society  of 
Canada,  1889,  page  121. 


Stbugtore  of  the  Bbaoh. 


45 


(Warren  water)  covered  also  the  basins  of  the  otlier  and  liigher  lakes. 
After  the  dismemberment  of  this  greater  sheet  of  water,  the  surface  of 
that  occupying  the  Ontario-St.  Lawrence  valley  was  gradually  lowered, 
and  fell  several  hundred  feet,  without  pausing  long  enough  to  deeply 
cut  out  or  straighten  its  changing  shore  lines.  At  last,  this  shrinkage 
of  the  waters  came  to  a  pause  lasting  until  the  shore-line  became  more 
pronounced  than  that  of  the  modera  lake.  It  is  this  shore-line  that 
forms  the  basis  of  the  present  chapter,  and  constitutes  that  water-margin 
which  the  writer  has  named  the  **Iroqu(  is  Beach,"*  in  memory  of  the 
aborigines  who  trailed  over  its  gravel  ridges. 

The  general  structure  of  the  ancient  shore-lines  is  somewhat  fully 
described  in  "Ancient  Shores,  Boulder  Pavements,  etc."f  But  let  ns 
here  repeat  some  of  the  characteristics.  Typically,  the  ancient  beach 
consists  of  a  ridge  of  gravel  and  sand  rising  sometimes  to  twenty-five 
or  more  above  the  frontal  ]>lain,  which  further  descends  lakeward  (as  in 
fig.  3,  p  28).  Back  of  the  ridge,  which  rarely  exceeds  a  width  of  500  feet, 
and  usually  less,  with  a  very  narrow  crest,  there  is  often  a  lagoon-like 
depression.  The  beach  may  be  broken  into  a  number  of  ridges  {b  or  c). 
The  summit  marks  the  heighth  of  the  wave  action.  This  barrier  ridge 
may  become  a  terrace,  or  it  may  pass  into  the  form  of  a  spit  across 
some  valley  {h  or  b,  fig  6).  Again  the  ridge  may  be  wanting,  but  the 
shore  will  be  represented  as  a  cut  terrace  (fig  4),  in  front  of  which  a 
boulder  pavement  may  frequently  be  seen  iP).  This  pavement  is  also 
often  found  in  front  of  gravel  beaches.  In  places  where  the  former 
waters  were  gnawing  away  the  drift  shores,  or  where  rocky  promon- 
tories rose  out  of  deep  water,  true  beach  structure  is  wanting,  or  only 
represented  by  benches. 

In  the  survey  of  the  Iroquois  Beach,  the  shore  line  has  been  followed 
by  one  or  another  of  its  characteristics,  even  across  areas  of  broken 
physical  features.  The  altitude  of  the  highest  ridge,  where  the  beach 
is  broken  up  into  a  series  of  ridges,  is  that  which  has  been  everywhere 
taken,  for  it  is  the  one  giving  most  accurate  results.  No  elevations 
have  been  adopted  except  those  of  the  summit  of  the  crests  (as  in 
fig.  3),  or  of  the  spits  (at  h  or  ft,  fig.  6,  p.  30).  The  measurements  conse- 
quently represent  the  maximum  height  of  wave-action,  in  place  of  the 
mean  surface  of  the  water,  which  was  a  few  feet  below.  The  writer's 
leveling  has  everywhere  been  done  instru mentally. 


I 

!^ 

i ... 
I'll 


i  !* 


i.i  1 1 


i't:  ■  t 


HI 


ill 


*  The  name  was  first  printed  In  Science,  Jan.  27, 18S8,  p.  49. 

tBy  the  writer.  In  Bulletin  of  the  Geological  Society  of  America,  vol.  i,  1879,  p.  71. 


r^i 


46 


Extent  of  the  Ieoquots  Beaoh. 


The  coast  materialp,  out  of  which  the  Iroquois  shores  have  been 
carved,  are  most  boulder  clay,  or  stratified  clays  or  sands,  deposited 
upon  the  floor  of  the  lake  when  the  waters  were  at  higher  levels.  At 
a  few  places  the  shores  rest  against  Paleozoic  rocks,  in  which  cases  the 
materials  of  the  gravel  beach  are  more  scanty,  as  the  pebbles  were 
mostly  derived  from  the  stony  drift,  or  there  may  be  an  absence  of  ihe 
beach. 

Except  in  spits  across  old  valleys,  the  thickness  of  the  sand  and 
gravel  of  the  beach  does  not  usually  exceed  20  feet,  but  in  front  of 
valleys  it  may  reach  a  thickness  of  100  feet  (/*,  fig.  6).  The  internal 
structure  always  shows  stratification,  with  such  sloping  and  false- 
bedding  as  are  characteristic  of  beaches. 

There  are  frequent  exposures  which  shows  that  the  Iroquois  Beach 
rests  upon  stratified  stoneless  clay — the  silt  washed  into  the  waters 
when  the  waves  were  encroaching  upon  older  and  higher  shore-lines, 
and  aseorting  the  boulder  clay,  which,  at  the  higher  elevations,  formed 
the  coast.  Eastward  of  Watertown,  the  beach  rests  upor?  stratified 
sand  in  place  of  clay,  as  there  was  but  little  stony  clay  in  the  drift  to 
furnish  silt  for  the  older  lake  floor. 

From  near  Trenton  to  the  head  of  the  lake,  and  thence  around  the 
southern  and  eastern  borders  to  near  Watertown,  the  Iroquois  Beach 
is  not  hard  to  follow;  but  eastward  of  that  point  the  features  are  more 
complex.  The  old  coast  of  stony  clay  is  there  replaced  by  stony  drift 
sand,  and  hence  there  is  but  little  lithological  distinction  between  the 
frontal  plain  and  the  older  sandy  drift  shores.  Moreover,  sueh  a  coast 
is  apt  to  be  defaced  by  the  sand  being  heaped  into  dunes.  Again,  in 
the  region  beyond  Watertown,  the  Iroquois  Beach  is  interrupted  by 
promontories  of  Paleozoic  limestones  and  shales,  rising  out  of  deep 
water,  upon  which  at  most  only  benches  were  cut.  Farther,  north- 
eastward, the  beaches  trend  among  bold  headlands  and  islands  of 
crystalline  rocks.  Wave  action,  which  carves  broad  terraces  out  of 
drift  materials,  can  cut  only  moderately  well-marked  benches  out  of 
limestones.  But  when  the  same  intensity  of  wave  force  'u  applied  to 
hard  crystalline  rocks,  especially  when  interrupted  by  islands,  the 
benches  become  less  conspicuous  than  when  excavated  out  of  lime- 
stones, or  they  may  become  very  obscure.  Still,  upon  the  flanks  of 
the  Adirondack  Mountains,  the  Iroquois  Beach  can  be  followed  and 
identified  by  the  remains  of  barrier  ridges,  terraces,  bowlder- 
pavements,  benches,  and  above  all  by  the  occurrence  of  spits  across  old 
valleys. 


Altitddes  or  the  Iroquois  Bbaoh. 


47 


Combining  the  surveys  of  Mr.  Gilburi,  and  the  writer,  the  position  of 
the  Iroquois  Bcaeii  is  nhowr  on  the  accoiapanying  map. 

1 


OfJvlf^ 


iktit  \   I  I  I  r  T 


Klawitteni  raftrha  B«sch  ibov* 
Lah*  Onuriri.  S4T  h«t  abov* 


Fio.  ii.—  Map  of  the  Iroquois  Oulf, 

The  following  table  gives  the  elevation  at  salient  points  along  the 
Iroquois   Beach.     The  elevations  given     are   those  of  the  crest  of 

Feet  above  the  sea. 

Lake  Ontario,  surface  of 247  (U.  S.  Lake  Survey). 

Hamilton 863  (Spencer). 

Burlington  Heights 855         " 

Waterdown  Station 863         " 

Cooksville  Station,  about 400         " 

Carlton  Station  417 

Kmgston  Road,  crossing  railway  12  miles  east  of 

Toronto 459         '• 

Whitby,  6  miles  north  of  lake,  near 507         " 

Colborne  Station,  2  miles  north  of 603         •• 

Trenton  Station,  2^  miles  north  of  632         " 

Lewiston,  N.  Y ....  885  (Gilbert). 

Rochester,  N.  Y 486 

Canastota,  N.  Y- 441 

Cleveland,  N.  Y 484 

Conetantia.  N.  Y 489 

Richland,  N.  Y 563 

Adams  Centre,  N.  Y 657 

Prospect  Farm,  4  miles  east  of  Watertown 780  (Spencer). 

Natural  Bridge 829 

East  Pitcairn,  1  rrile  northeast^of 942         " 

Fine 972 


48 


Deformation  of  the  Iroquois  Bkaco. 


Ml' 

M    '#11, 


the  liiglii'Ht  ridj^L',  wlicro  tlio  hcurh  is  broken  into  a  number  of  ridgeletn, 
having  HonietirncH  a  vertical  range  of  twenty-five  feet  or  more. 

Thus  we  Bee  that  the  Inxjiiois  Heaeh  has  been  deformed  to  the  extent 
of  600  feet,  between  the  western  end  of  Lake  Ontario  and  Fine,  of 
which  only  78  feet  of  rise  occurs  upon  the  southern  side  of  the  present 
lake,  while  the  great  proportion  of  the  uplift  is  found  west  and  north- 
west of  the  Adiroiulack  Mcmiitains.  I'^pon  the  northern  side  of  the 
lake,  the  eastern  e(juivalent  of  uplift  is  more  pronounced.  At  the 
western  end  of  the  lake,  the  mean  ma.\i:!.Mm  uplift  is  1.60  feet  per  mile 
in  a  direction  of  N.  28  E.  This  rate  increases  towards  the  northeast. 
To  give  a  mean  rate  of  rise,  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  lake,  does  not 
convey  a  correct  id-  a,  for  the  uplift  increases  in  a  progressl-o  ratio. 
Thus  in  the  region  of  Oneida  Lake,  the  uplift  is  3.5  feel  permile,  while 
in  the  region  of  Watertown  it  amounts  to  5  f*et  per  mile;  and  farther 
northeastward  the  deformation  reaches  6  feet  per  mile,  in  the  direction 
of  N.  60"  E.  This  seems  an  extraordinurv  amount  of  measurable 
terrestrial  movement,  but  the  records  are  inscribed  in  the  beach.  It  U 
not  yet  known  where  this  upward  movement  ceases. 

Upon  the  Erie  beaches,  outside  of  the  Ontario  basin,  Mr.  Gilbert 
found  a  considerable  amoimt  of  warping  recorded  at  Crittenden,  N.  Y., 
over  the  horizon  at  the  western  end  of  the  same  lake.  I  have  traced 
the  Erie  beaches  around  to  the  southeastern  side  of  Lake  Michigan. 
Combining  our  results,  I  lind  the  measund  uplift  between  the  two 
regions  amounts  to  324  feet.  But  the  beach,  where  last  observed  near 
Lake  Michigan,  is  45  feet  above  its  surface.  Lideed,  it  is  there  diffi- 
cult to  trace,  owing  to  the  duny  character  of  the  sandy  country.  Uy 
the  assistance  of  other  beaches  found  in  that  region,  the  conclusion  is 
readily  arrived  at  that  the  shoreline  under  consideration  mut-t  pass  from 
40  to  60  feet  beneath  the  waters  of  the  lake  at  Chicago.  It  is  then 
evident  that  the  terrestrial  uplift,  between  Chicago  and  Crittenden, 
amounts  to  not  less  than  410  feet.  Crittenden  is  nearly  on  the  line  of 
strike  of  the  Iroquois  beach  (S.  62"  E.),  at  its  lowest  point,  at 
Hamilton  The  Erie  beaches,  eastward  of  the  Niagara  River,  were 
deformed  to  the  extent  of  0.4  feet  per  mile  before  the  Iroquois  episode, 
the  remainder  of  their  uplift  having  been,  synchronous  with  that  in  the 
Ontario  basin.  But  the  pre-Iroquois  differential  uplift  of  the  beaches 
farther  wet-t  is  reduced  to  almost  zero,  for  the  beaches  south  and  west 
of  Lake  Erie  have  suffered  very  little  deformation.  Consequently  a 
sufficient  amount  of  deformation  of  the  beaches  has  been  measured  to 
allow  for  inaccuracies  when  we  take  the  elevation  of  the  Iroquois  Beach 
above  the  sea  level  (363  feet),  as  the  amount  of  movement  that  must 


! 


Focus  OF  Elivation. 


40 


ho  adiliMl  to  tilt'  Iro(|iioM  plain  in  order  lo  rfpri'sent  tlu*  tt'rrcHtiial 
uplift  of  iIh!  Ontario  hanin  wince  tho  IrocpiloM  ►lioru  wan  fornjcil. 
Therefore,  it  is  apparent  that  t/ie  t/retit  Inuiuoh  licach  wuh  ronstrw  ted 
approxumitehj  ot  sf*t  hnd.  'Y\w  total  amount  of  uplift  Hitic<!  \.\w  epinodo 
will  then  he  th«'  hel^'ht  of  the  heaeh,  at  any  |»laee,  tneawured  ahove  the 
Hea  level,  whicli,  ;it  Fine,  is  972  feet. 

Were  the  Krie  heaches  reeo^'ni/.ahle  in  the  Adirondack  Hildernesg 
near  Fine,  tliey  should  he  found  at  altitudes  of  1,(S()()  feet  and  more 
ahovc  the  sea.  Fiut  this  is  a  calculation  outside  of  our  suhject,  which 
is  h.ised  u)»on  measurements. 

The  terrestrial  ni<»vements  recorded  in  the  heaelies  have  rol  lieen 
those  of  suhsidence  towards  the  west,  hut  of  uplift  towards  the  east, 
in  the  sann-  direction  as  those  changes  whicli  have  left  unquestioned 
marine  remains  deposited  at  high  altitudes  in  the  St.  Lawrence  valley. 

Otie  focus  of  the  warping  ahout  the  western  end  of  Lake  Ontario 
and  ahout  C-Jeorgian  Hay  appears  to  have  heen  in  the  region  of  lat.  48° 
N.,  long.  70"  W.  Another  focus  of  ujdift  is  Hom«'where  hey.md  the 
last  point  of  rise  measured  in  the  Adirondacks.  Tims  the  axis  between 
these  foci  appears  to  coincide,  more  or  less,  with  the  old  Archa-'an  axis 
of  the  continent,  as  suggested  hy  Professor  Dana. 

The  uplift  of  tlu!  Iro(pu)is  lieach  has  heen  since  the  episode  of  the 
uppermost  deposits  of  drift  or  till,  for  higher  and  older  heaclxs  than 
the  Iro(|uoi8  rest  upon  the  newest  stony  clays  of  Ontario,  Michigan  and 
and  other  states.  The  Irocpiois  Beach  rests  upon  tlie  mud  floors  of  the 
earlier  sheets  of  water  which  covered  the  till  deposits.  The  rate  of 
northeastward  regional  ujilift  has  been  gradually  diminihing,  for  we 
find  other  heaches,  lower  than  the  Iroquois,  whose  rate  of  rite  is  much 
reduced  below  that  of  the  great  beach.  Hut  the  Iroquois  plain  was 
the  great  event  in  the  history  of  the  Ontario  basin. 

In  the  rising  of  the  land,  after  the  Iroquois  episode,  there  were 
pauses,  but  not  of  such  duration  as  to  permit  of  the  formatit»n  of  great 
shore-lines  like  that  thus  described.  After  the  waters  had  fallen  about 
200  feet  below  the  Iroquois  plain,  there  was  a  conspicuous  rest.  This 
is  recorded  in  a  terrace  near  Watertown  at  535  feet  above  the  sea.  At 
Oswego,  we  find  a  beach  descending  to  near  water  level,  at  about  185 
feet  below  the  great  Iroquois  beach.  Farther  westward,  it  passes 
below  the  lake.  The  dip  of  the  Iroquois  Beach,  between  the  region  of 
Oswego  and  the  western  end  of  the  lake,  is  about  78  feet;  and  accord- 
ingly we  should  find  the  remains  of  this  younger  shore-line  (for  a 
large  proportion  of  the  regional  uplift  has  been  effected  since  its 

7 


50 


Birth  of  Lake  Ontario. 


IP 
^1 


i; 

il 

,    ,1 

■1:  I- 


I'    , 


formatiou)  submerged  to  65  or  70  feet  at  the  western  end  of  the  lake. 
Behind  the  modern  bars  and  beaches,  the  water  of  Irondiquois  Bay  (a 
narrow  river  like  channel)  is  78  feet  deep;  the  Niagara  River,  72  feet; 
and  Burlington  Bay,  78  feet.  These  conditions  indicate  that  the  lake 
covering  these  channels  was  at  one  time  withdrawn,  leaving  only  a  few 
feet  of  water  in  the  rivers  which  flowed  through  tlie  otherwise  dry 
valleys.  Here,  then,  in  front  of  the  bay,  submerged  or  buried  by  more 
recent  accumulations  (upon  re-submergence),  is  the  position  of  this 
lower  beach  extending  westward  of  Oswego,  which  was  formed  at  a 
level  now  70  feet  below  the  t-urface  of  the  western  end  of  the  lake. 
Indeed,  the  uniformly  narrow  Burlington  Beach  (J),  tig.  6),  with  a 
length  of  five  miles  across  the  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  is  thus  easily 
explained  as  having  originated  as  a  small  barrier,  in  front  of  the 
shallow  river  flowing  down  the  Dundas  valley  and  acro«s  the  now  sub- 
merged floor  of  Burlington  Bay.  With  the  more  recent  backing  of 
the  waters  of  the  lake,  this  bar  grew  to  the  proportions  of  the  modern 
beach,  built  out  of  materials  derived  from  the  older  shores  and  not  from 
river  deposits. 

At  the  time  when  this  young  beach  —  now  beneath  the  lake  —  was 
being  formed,  the  waters  had  receded  for  only  from  three  to  five  miles 
from  what  are  now  the  western  shores  of  Ontario,  but  they  extended 
farther  landward  than  at  present  upon  its  northern  side,  as  shown  by 
the  raised  beaches,  and  by  the  absence  of  submerged  channels. 

The  Niagara  River  was  about  four  miles  longer  than  now,  cutting 
its  way  over  a  projecting  point  of  shaly  rocks.  But  this  channel  is  at 
present  filled,  and  is  again  further  submerged  beneath  the  lake. 

During  the  continued  rise,  the  waters  of  the  Ontario  basin  may  have 
been  even  somewhat  further  shrunken  at  its  western  end,  and  the 
waves  may  have  mouldered  some  of  the  submerged  CFcarpments  upon 
the  southern  side.  The  waters  upon  the  southern  side  could  have 
nowhere  been  more  than  about  200  feet  below  the  present  level,  even 
if  that  amount  of  shrinkage,  which  represents  most  of  the  barrier  hold- 
ing the  basin  above  the  sea,  ever  obtained.  However,  no  important 
geographical  event  is  recorded  in  any  of.  the  possible  coast-lines  sub- 
merged at  levels  below  that  just  described. 

With  the  regional  uplift,  the  barrier  across  the  St.  Lawrence  valley 
eventually  cut  off  free  communication  with  the  sea,  at  a  common  level. 
This  uplift  was  continued"  until  the  Iroquois  Beach  now  rests  at  972 
feet  above  the  sea  at  Fine,  and  the  modern  lake  at  247  feet.  Thus  the 
modern  lake  had  its  birth.    This  warping  at  the  northwestern  end  of 


iiii 


Obioin  of  the  Babrier  Eetainiko  the  Lake. 


61 


lake. 
ay  (a 

feet; 
!  lake 
a  few 
e  dry 

more 
if  this 
>d  at  a 
;  lake, 
ivith  a 

easily 
of  the 
»w  sub- 
king  of 
modern 
3t  from 

3  —  was 
ve  miles 
xtended 
own  by 

cm  ting 
inel  is  at 

lay  have 
and  the 
nts  upon 
uld  have 
!vel,  even 
rier  hold- 
mportant 
lines  sub- 

ttce  valley 
inon  level. 
jsts  at  972 
Thus  the 
rn  end  of 


the  lake,  daring  the  later  and  since  the  Pleistocene  period,  has  been 
enough  nott)nly  to  account  for  the  rocky  barrier  holding  the  lake 
above  the  sea,  but  to  account  for  all  the  barrier  across  the  St.  Lawrence 
valley  closing  the  ancient  basin  of  Ontario  to  a  depth  of  nearly  500 
feet  below  sea  level.* 

In  the  Iroquois  Beach  no  shells  have  been  found.  Only  the  remains 
of  mammoth,  elk  and  beaver  have  been  met  with.f  Consequently,  the 
question  arises  as  to  the  freshness  of  the  waters.  Not  far  from  the 
eastern  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  the  remains  of  a  whale  were  found  at  450 
feet  above  the  sea  —  at  an  elevation  which  would  ^drait  of  the  free 
access  of  oceanic  waters  into  the  Ontario  basin.  J  Still  no  other  marine 
or  fresh-water  fossils  have  been  found  in  the  beaches.  It  therefore 
appears  to  me  that  the  absence  of  such  organisms  speaks  no  more  in 
favor  of  fresh  water  conditions  than  of  brackish  or  even  salt  when  the 
Iroquois  shores  were  being  formed;  and  does  not  preclude  the  idea  of 
free  communications  with  the  sea  any  more  than  when  the  whale  came 
landward  in  waters  200  feet  higher  than  the  present  lake  surface. 
Indeed,  I  look  upon  the  Ontario  St.  Lawrence  valley^  during  the 
Iroquois  episode,  as  resembling  the  Gulf  of  Obi,  which  is  a  sheet  of 
water  from  40  to  60  miles  wide,  and  600  to  700  miles  long,  into  which 
so  much  fresh  water  is  discharging  as  to  render  even  the  Arctic  Sea 
for  60  miles  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  gulf  so  fresh  as  to  be  almost 
potable,§  and  sufficiently  fresh  to  destroy  marine  life. 

The  only  dam  that  haa  been  hypothecated  as  filling  the  St.  Lawrence 
valley  is  that  of  a  glacier.  As  the  Iroquois  Beach  was  at  sea  level,  no 
dam  ought  to  be  required  to  hold  up  the  water,  but  at  most  only  to 
keep  out  the  sea.  However,  I  have  followed  the  beach  for  100  miles 
within  the  margin  of  the  hypothecated  barrier  without  find- 
ing the  traces  of  an  ending  of  the  old  shore  markings  upon  the  con- 
fines of  the  Adirondack  wilderness.  Even  the  coincidence  of  the 
shallow  and  small  channel,  discovered  by  Mr.  Gilbert,  connecting 
the  Iroquois  waters  with  the  sea,  by  the  Mohawk  valley,  or  of 
the  broader  and  lower  valley  of  Lake  Champlain,  does  not  prove 
the    necessity  of  a  former  barrier  across  the  St.  Lawrence   valley 

*  See  origin  of  the  Basins  of  the  Oreat  Lakes,  by  J.  W.  Spencer,  Q.  J.  Q.  8.,  vol.  xItI,  Part  4. 
1800. 

t  Col.  C.  0.  Grant  of  Hamilton  has  recently  found  other  vertebrate  remains,  but  not  yet 
determined. 

tSirW.  Dawson.  Can.  Nat.,  vol.  x,  p.  888.  The  remains  are  In  the  Redpath  Museum  at 
Montreal. 

i  Kordenskjttld  in  "  Toyage  of  the  Vega,"  p.  140. 


1^1 


i 


%■ 


1^' 


52 


Htpothbsis  of  Glacial  Dams. 


^:lii 


I  ii; 


any  more  than  the  narrow  channels  among  the  gigantic  islands 
north  of  Hudson  Bay  would  prove  the  former  presence  of  a 
dam  holding  in  the  waters  of  that  bay,  wtre  the  whole  country 
elevated.  For  a  glacial  dam  to  exist  across  the  Adirondacks,  even 
at  the  narrowest  point,  it  would  need  to  be  80  or  100  miles  wide. 
If  it  had  no  greater  depth  than  the  water  north  of  Fine  used  to  have, 
the  ice  would  need  to  be  thick  enough  to  fill  a  channel  of  800  feet  depth. 
As  the  differeatial  uplift  probably  continues  throughout  the  Adi- 
rondack region,  we  would  need  to  be  prepared  to  accept  a  dam  of  at 
least  1,300  feet  in  thickness",  and  a  hundred  miles  across.  *Apparent 
beaches  in  Vermoi  t  at  2,100  feet  above  the  sea  (Hitchcock),**  and  the 
post-Pleistocene  emergence  of  Mt.  Desert,  cbserved  in  the  coastal 
markings  to  its  summit  of  1,500  feet  (Shaltr),t  increase  the  probability 
of  our  regional  uplift  continuing  throughout  the  Adirondacks. 

Any  water  prof  dam  in  front  of  the  Iroquois  Beach  would  have  had 
to  endure  throughout  the  long  period  of  its  formation.  But  all  known 
glacial  dams  are  small  and  evanescent.  Yet  the  one  suggested  as 
closing  up  the  Ontario's  basin  would  Jiave  had  to  retain  a  greater 
sheet  of  open  water  than  that  of  modern  Lakj  Ontario,  receiving  not 
merely  the  waters  of  the  then  upper  lakes,  but  also  those  of  the  melt- 
ing of  the  hypothecated  glacial  dam.  It  is  questionable  what  thick- 
ness of  ice  would  hold  in  the  waters,  for  the  modern  glacial  dams  of 
Mt.  St.  Elias  discharge  beneath  500  feet  of  ice  for  a  distance  of  eight 
miles  I  As  soon  as  the  waters  fell  below  the  Mohawk  outlet,  the  dis 
charge  of  the  glacial  lake  ought  to  have  melted  aid  lowered  the  ice  on 
the  one  side  and  carved  out  terraces  on  the  other,  unless  the  river  were 
60  to  100  miles  wide.  And  there  are  terraces  upon  the  northern  side 
of  the  Ottawa  valley,  as  well  as  upon  the  flanks  of  the  Adirondacks. 

There  seem  to  me  to  be  no  phenomena  in  the  later  lake  history  of 
Ontario  necessitating  the  existence  of  a  dam  across  the  St.  Lawrence 
valley.  In  short,  the  Iroquois  water  was  a  gulf.  The  Adirondacks 
and  New  England  formed  great  islands.  The  Iroquois  episode  com- 
menced almost  synchronous  with  the  birth  of  the  Niagara  Falls.  And 
the  history  of  Lake  Ontario  records  interesting  and  great  changes 
which  now  form  a  simple  story. 


!ik 


'''NoTB.— Subsequent  inTestigatlonB  conflrm  the  absence  of  glacial  dams. 
♦♦Geology  of  Vermont. 

tGeology  of  Mt.  Desert.    Eighth  Annual  Report  of  U.  8.  Geol.  Survey. 
tHarold  Topham  in  Froc.  Roy.  Qeog.  Soc.,  1889,  p.  424. 


4'  ■  i, ; 


Beaches  Noeth  of  the  Adirondackb. 


68 


A 


Appkndix  to  the  Iroquois  Shore  ""^jrtii  of  the  Adirosda-CKs. 

Iq  previous  papers  on  the  Iroquois  shores  of  the  Ontario  basin,  their 
position  was  definitely  located  only  to  a  point  near  Belleville,  on  the 
northern  side  of  Lake  Ontario.  But,  from  the  general  character  of 
the  country,  I  pointed  out  the  necessity  of  extending  the  Iroquois 
water  across  a  broad  expanse  of  country  to  the  highlands  north  of  the 
Ottawa  river,  on  the  Hanks  of  which  shore  depiisits  are  known  at 
various  localities.  I  have  a'so  shown  tliat  the  Iroquois  water  stood  at 
or  near  sea-level;  and  in  ray  working  hypothesis  considered  the  Iroquois 
water  as  an  extension  of  the  gulf  of  Saint  Lawrence  into  the  Ontario 
basin,  although  more  or  less  obstructed  by  ice.  Since  the  last  paper 
was  wriiten,  Mr.  G.  K.  GilJ/inl  .-1  myself  have  revisited  the  region  as 
far  as  a  point  100  miles  noi  uv.  <»  of  Watertown.  Owing  to  Mr. 
Warren  Upham's  recent  acceptance  of  the  extension  of  the  open 
Iroquois  water  as  far  as  Quebec,  it  becomes  desirable  that  the  old 
shore  line,  so  far  as  definitely  surveyed,  should  be  published. 

After  a  long  stretch  of  unbroken  continuity,  the  Iroquois  beach  is 
abruptly  interrupted  by  rocky  cliffs  on  the  side  of  the  escarpment 
about  five  miles  east  of  Watertown.  Beyond  this  point,  owing  to  the 
broken  continuity,  the  remmants  of  the  ancient  shore  are  more  or  less 
fragmentary.  The  old  subaqueous  plain  extends  up  the  broad  Black 
river  valley  far  above  Carthage,  with  gravel  deposits  characterizing 
portions  of  its  margin.  The  northeastward  elevation  of  the  Iroquois 
beach  in  this  region  rises  at  over  six  feet  per  mile.  Beyond  Car- 
thage, the  country  becomes  more  broken,  being  traversed  by  ridges 
of  crystalline  rocks,  forming  a  late  extension  of  the  archipelago  of  the 
Thousand  Islands  at  a  higher  level.  The  drift  deposits  become  more 
sandy,  with  very  little  clay,  and  consequently  are  less  favorable  for  the 
production  of  well  d(?fined  beaches.  The  island  character  of  this  region 
is  particularly  unfavorabhj  for  the  development  of  well  defined  shore 
markings.  But  wherever  valleys  enter  the  archipelago,  their  outlets 
are  characterized  by  delta  deposits  of  terraces,  whose  hypsometric 
position  can  be  predicted  in  proceeding  eastward. 

At  Mr.  Frank  Wilsiu's,  four  miles  east  of  Watertown,  the  unques- 
tioned beach  is  broken  into  ridgelets  between  730  and  704  feet,  with  a 
frontal  gravel  bearing  terrace  at  682  feet.  Below  this  horizon  there  is 
an  extensive  terrace  plain  east  of  Watertown  at  about  535  feet.  At 
the  mouth  of  Indian  river,  at  Natural  Bridge,  these  delta  deposits  form 
terraces,  with  more  or  less  beach  structure,  at  an  elevation  between  829 


11 
i 


III 


r  i 


:'f     Jl 


54 


Beaches  North  cf  the  Adirondacks. 


■  !:| 

I 

n 


and  802  feet,  with  a  frontal  gravel  plain  descending  from  181  feet 
downward.  In  both  case?,  the  waves,  in  carving  out  the  lower  terraces, 
have  removed  portions  of  the  higher  ridgelets.  Between  these  limits 
there  is  no  strongly  marked  terrace,  but  the  lower  is  more  confined  to 
this  regi  »nal  topography  than  the  upper;  and  where  gravelly,  the 
pebbles  are  subordinate  to  the  sand.  For  quantity  and  size  of  water- 
worn  pebbles,  the  gravel  dei)08its  at  Natural  Bridge  are  physically 
the  equivalents  of  those  of  the  Iroquois  beach  to  the  south  westward. 
Above  and  below  this  level,  at  Natural  Bridge,  there  are  no  fragments 
of  ancient  water  lines  liable  to  be  mistaken  for  the  Iroquois  shore.  The 
elevation  of  these  deposits  is  that  which  would  be  expected  from  the 
measured  warping  recorded  about  Watertown.  Beyond  Natural 
Bridge  there  are  extended  gravel  plains,  in  height  conforming  to  the 
terraces  at  the  old  mouth  of  Indian  river;  but  these  are  often  more  or 
less  pitted. 

These  plains  appear  to  me  as  due  to  the  presence  of  floebergs  or  other 
masses  ot  ice  stranded  upon  the  old  shore.  Even  if  they  were  shore 
deposits  formed  in  glacial  lakelets,  their  elevation  is  such  as  to  show  a 
common  water  level.  They  now  face  a  lower  descending  country  to 
the  rorthnestward,  and  are  deformed  by  the  gradual  warping  toward 
the  northeast.  At  Pitcaini,  the  valley  is  200  feet  or  more  in  depth, 
forming  a  deep  channel  in  the  late  expaiision  of  the  Laurentian 
archipelago.  High  on  the  sides  of  the  valley  zones  of  boulders,  which 
are  so  often  characteristic  of  old  shore  lines,  are  found  at  heights  in 
keeping  with  the  deformed  Iroquois  beach. 

A  little  north  of  East  Pitcairn,  there  is  a  line  display  of  terraces, 
with  beach  s'ruciure.  These  are  partly  in  front  of  a  now  unimportant 
valley.  There  are  several  ridgelets,  the  highest  being  942  feet;  but 
the  most  important  is  930  feet  above  tide.  These  ridgelets  descend 
to  a  terrace  or  frontal  plain  60  feet  below.  A  short  distance 
beyond,  the  terraces  of  Oswegatchee  river  are  seen.  Just  north  of 
Fine,  they  close  around  and  connect  a  rocky  island  with  the  eastern 
side,  and  form  a  sort  of  barrier  beach.  This  bar  has  an  elevation  of 
972  feet.  All  of  the  above  recorded  terraces  were  leveled.  The 
following  are  of  barometric  measurement.  The  rise  in  height  in  these 
beaches  corresponds  to  the  deformation  of  the  Iroquois  beach,  increas- 
ing from  five  to  six  and  seven  feet  for  miles  toward  the  northeast,  which 
amount  ought  perhaps  to  be  slightly  modified,  owing  to  imperfect 


Reprinted  from  the  Bull.  Qbol.  Boc.  Am  ,  Vol.  III.,  p.  488-191, 1891. 


Tbbbaoes  North  of  the  Adirondaoks. 


55 


identification  in  the  crests  of  these  terraces  or  tlie  absence  of  some 
portions  of  the  highest  riclgeletp. 

The  next  great  valley  is  that  of  the  Grassy  river.  At  Clifton  Forge 
(Clarksboro),  the  old  mouth  of  the  valley  is  well  defined  bj'  a  beautiful 
gravel  terrace  at  1,055  feet  (bar.),  with  an  inferior  terrace  or  ridge  at 
45  feet  below.  Lower  than  this  no  well  marked  gravel  terrace  occurs; 
but  at  850  feet  there  is  an  extensive  sand  plain,  forming  a  terrace  con- 
fined to  the  valley.  The  terrace  in  the  last  valle}'  is  nearly  due  north 
of  that  at  Fine,  and  appears  to  represent  a  warping  of  eight  feet  per 
mile,  but  probably  the  barometric  measurement  is  responsible  for  the 
apparent  increase  in  rate  of  elevation.  Still,  the  northern  uplift  may 
probably  exceed  that  to  the  northeast. 

The  chain  of  observation  was  continued  by  Mr.  Gilbert  and  myself 
to  Racket  river.  The  elevations  were  not  satisfactorily  obtained,  as 
the  changing  weather  greatly  affected  the  barometer,  especially  above 
South  Col  ton.  At  South  Colton  there  is  a  sandy  plain  at  about  940 
feet  (bar.),  apparently  corresponding  to  the  plains  below  Clifton 
Forge  and  Fine,  Racket  river  presents  an  interesting  change  of 
channel  near  Stark  post-office.  Its  old  course  was  in  a  broad  valley, 
now  occupied  by  Cold  water  creek  as  far  as  South  Colton;  but  after 
the  Pleistocene  revolution,  it  cut  across  hard  rocks  and  deserted  its 
old  channel.  Following  up  the  Coldwater  valley,  we  reached  a  broad 
sandy  terrace  underlain  by  gravel.  This  plain  forms  terraces  extending 
northward  along  the  sides  of  the  valley.  Its  elevation  is  1,215  (?bar. ; 
the  weather  was  very  threatening).  Other  deposits  were  noted  at 
1,350  feet,  which  were  probably  older  valley  terraces.  Again,  on  the 
brow  of  the  plateau  facing  Potsdam,  there  was  a  plain  at  1,160  feet 
with  a  boulder  pavement  in  front  of  it.  The  value  of  these  measure- 
ments is  impaired  that  they  are  only  important  in  identifying  con- 
tinued elevations  of  the  terrace  plains  near  the  late  outlets  of  the 
valleys  as  far  eastward  as  Racket  river.  In  descending  from  the  last 
plain  there  was  no  extensive  valley  terrace  below  the  level  of  South 
Colton  of  magnitude  corresponding  to  tho^e  at  Watertown  or  at 
Clifton  Forge.  It  might  be  noted  that  throughout  this  high  region 
all  of  the  pebbles  are  of  local  origin  and  none  that  could  be  identified 
as  Canadian.  The  Paleozoic  rocks  were  absent  from  the  drift  above 
South  Colton  and  Parishville.  Indeed,  some  of  the  apparent  sand- 
stones arecleavable  tpurtzitic  gneisses,  and  require  close  observation  to 
prevent  mistake. 

Along  the  whole  northern  flank  of  the  Adirondacks,  there  is  a  great 
poverty  of  glaciated  surfaces.     Near  Natural  Bridge  the  direction  of 


1  Ki 

li| 
If 


'  W 


m 
"  .1 1 


II 


56 


GLioiATioN  North  of  thb  Adirondaoks. 


m 

|f<i 


M 


M'; 


I'    l 


the  str'uB  wan  south  75°  west  and  south  55"  west.  On  the  hills  farther 
south  the  direction  was  south  20°  to  25®  ea-it,  and  near  Harrisville 
south  10*  west.  Boulders  were  of  large  size.  One,  at  a  school  house 
three  miles  southwest  of  South  Colton,  showed  at  least  0,00  )  cubic  feet 
above  surface  of  the  ground. 

From  the  reccMit  explorations,  allowing  for  errors  in  observation  and 
measurement,  it  appears  that  shore  deposits  occur  at  the  mouths  of  all 
the  valleys  which  entered  the  Laurentian  archipelago  of  the  Thousand 
Islands.  Throughout  a  considerable  range  of  altitude,  there  is  only 
one  set  of  terraces  or  delta  deposits,  always  occurring  at  the  mouths 
of  old  valleys,  with  occasional  connecting  gravel  plains  or  terraces  of 
beach  like  structure,  composed  of  coarse  pebbles,  in  magnitude  com- 
parable to  the  physical  development  of  the  Iroquois  leach  farther 
westward;  the  lower  terraces  beijig  mainly  sandy  and  contined  to  the 
valleys;  and  the  higher,  if  known  at  all,  much  above  the  possible  alti- 
tude of  the  Iroquois  plain.  These  terraces  form  sets  of  ridgelets  rang- 
ing downward  from  their  crests  about  50  feet  to  the  gravelly  deposit 
of  their  frontal  terraces.  This  holds  true  alike  for  the  exposures  of  the 
Iroquois  beach  east  of  VVatertown  and  for  the  recorded  terraces  at  the 
mouth  of  the  valley.  The  next  great  terrace*  jUain  below  these  gravel 
shores  is  about  200  feet  and  mostly  sandy,  alike  near  Watertown  and 
along  Grassy  river  and  elsewhere.  The  dilfercntial  rise  of  the  Iroquois 
beach  increases  toward  the  northeast.  Southeast  of  Lake  Ontario  it  is 
three  feet  per  mile.  Near  Watertown  it  is  five  or,  rather,  nearly  six  feet, 
and  eastward  the  ten  aces  at  the  mouth  of  the  valleys  rise  from  six 
to  perhaps  seven  feet  per  mile  in  a  constantly  increasing  ratio,  as 
would  be  expected. 

Of  all  this  cumulative  evidence,  there  seems  but  one  explanation, 
namely,  that  these  shore  accumul  vlions  at  the  mouths  of  the  old  v  ''-^v 
are  identical  with  the  Iroquois  beach  further  westward  and  formed  ( 
water  level.  The  warpinif  of  this  region  is  established,  and  can  no'  Uv 
discarded  in  order  to  have  glacial  dams  at  various  elevations,  whi  h  of 
itself  appears  unnecessary  and  illogical.  But  ice  obstructions  be  ,ween 
these  valleys  at  the  same  level  would  not  permanently  affect  tliF  >vater 
level  of  the  whole;  for  glacial  lakes  are  evanescent,  and  some  of  such, 
if  they  existed,  would  not  have  been  more  than  narrow  tongues,  as 
as  shown  by  the  incomplete  surveys,  I  do  not  here  accept  or  deny  the 
occurrence  of  local  glacial  dams;  only  the  identity  of  these  deposits 
as  the  equivalent  of  the  Iroquois  shore  seems  well  Chtablished  for  a 
hundred  miles  east  of  Watertown. 


;i;H    '     . 


Iroquois  Beach  North  of  the  Adirondaoks. 


«T 


Mr.  Upham's  recently  adopted  liypothesis*  of  the  extension  of  open 
water  as  far  as  Quebec  during  the  Iroquois  history,  and  the  consequent 
ehrinkage  of  the  theoretical  gla  ial  dams  400  miles  to  the  northeast- 
ward, is  in  harmony  with  my  views  previously  set  forth.  The  details 
in  the  j)resent  paper  only  locate  the  approximate  positions  of  the  old 
shore  as  far  northeastward  as  they  have  been  definitely  explored. 
Whfre  the  upward  warping  ceases  or  is  replaced  by  a  descending 
movement  toward  the  sea  has  not  been  discovered,  so  that  it  may  be 
found  that  the  Iroquois  sh  )re  is  lower  in  the  region  of  Quebec  than  in 
the  Adirondack  region.  This  idea  of  a  lesser  continental  u])lil't  in  the 
northeast  than  farther  southwestward  has  already  been  hypothesized 
in  one  of  my  previous  papers  and  subsequently  pointed  out  by 
Baron  de  Geer. 

That  much  drifting  ice  occurred  in  the  nortli westward  extension  of 
the  Iro(juois  water  is  probable  on  account  of  its  pitted  shores,  boulder 
pavements  and  broken  features.  It  may  be  even  possible  that  this 
body  of  water,  which  was  at  sea-level,  was  cut  off  from  open  water  by 
local  glaciers  descending  into  the  lower  St.  Lawrence  valley,  but  thefe 
could  not  be  sufhcient  to  hold  for  ages  a  body  of  water  600  miles  long 
and  in  part  over  InO  miles  wide  much  above  sea  level. 

In  Mr.  Upham's  ])aper  on  lakes  Warren,  Algonquin  and  Iroquois  he 
has  given  definitions  difreriiig  from  those  of  my  urigiual  descriptions. 
I  describe  lake  Warren  as  extending  over  the  Ojitario  basin  as  well  as 
over  the  basins  of  the  upper  lakes,  for  I  know  of  terraces  and  other 
shore  phenomena  belonging  to  the  elevation.  The  only  systematic 
work  on  the  Algonquin  water  wa««  originally  done  by  myself  and 
recently  continued  by  Mr.  Taylor,  and  I  have  shown  that  its  level  was 
about  300  feet  above  the  Iroquois  plain.  The  dismemberment  of  the 
Warren  water  was  first  pointed  out  by  myself  and,  from  the  evidence, 
there  appear  to  have  been  many  outlets  —  that  at  Chicago  being  only 
one  of  them  and  not  the  outlet  of  a  separate  glacial  lake. 

Mr.  Gilbert's  interpretation  of  the  phenomena  north  of  the 
Adirondacks  as  being  attributable  to  glacial  lakes  does  not  seem  to 
me  to  be  tenable,  from  the  immense  amount  of  cumulative  evidence  set 
forth  in  this  paper;  but  all  the  glacial  characteristics  of  the  terraces 
and  pitted  plains  raaj  be  easily  ex[)lained  by  floating  ice,  acting  in  the 
Laurentian  archipelago  upon  the  Iroquois  shore;  which  Avould  only  be 
located  as  above  described  even  upon  Mr.  Upham's  explanation  of  the 
closing  of  the  Ontario  basin  by  a  glacial  dam  at  Quebec . 

*  Mr.  Qilbert  informs  me  that  Mr.  Upliam  refers  to  beaches  lower  than  the  Iroquois  aa 
defined  by  me  in  naming  that  shore.  One  is  scarcely  exp<M;ted  to  alter  a  deflaition.  However, 
it  makes  but  little  d*fTarence  which  of  the  Ontario  beach  ^  he  extends  to  Q  lebec,  as  all  are  far 
above  the  Champlain  level.  . 


1    p{ 


CHAPTER   V. 


Em 


I'  !iJ 


Deformation   of  the   Lundy   Beach   and  Birth  of  Lake 

Erie.* 

The  history  of  Lake  Erie  is  a  natural  sequel  to  the  birth  of  Lake 
Ontario  and  the  birth  of  Lake  Huron, f  which  have  already  appeared 
in  this  journal.  Deserted  strands  about  Lake  Erie  have  also  been 
made  known, J  but  all  of  them  extended  beyond  the  Erie  basin,  and 
formerly  embraced  the  greatest  of  the  inland  Hheets  —  the  Warren 
water  or  gulf  —  which  probably  covered  200,000  square  miles,  or  more 
than  the  entire  area  of  the  modern  lakes.  The  last  of  the  deserted 
shores  of  that  body  of  water  was  the  Forest  beach  (fig.  1.3).  The 
subsequent  rise  of  land  or  subsidence  of  the  waters  has  been  inter- 
mittent with  episodes  of  rest  long  enough  for  the  waves  to  carve  out 
broad  terraces  or  build  up  heavy  beaches.  Still,  the  instability  of  the 
waters  is  marked  by  the  greater  beaches  being  composed  of  a  series  of 
breachlets  rather  than  one  individual  mass.  The  series  is  remarkably 
persistent,  although  there  may  be  imperfect  developments  of  the  com- 
ponent parts.  Between  the  different  sets  of  deserted  shores,  there  are 
often  only  traces  of  the  receding  water-levels. 

In  the  survey  of  the  Forest  beach,  fragments  of  old  coast  linos  were 
observed  below  that  level,  and  these  have  recently  been  found  to  form 
part  of  a  great  Erie  shore,  in  age  synchronous  with  the  Algonquin 
beach  of  the  higher  lakes.  This  Erie  beach,  first  described  here,  may 
appropriately  be  called  the  Lundy  shore,  after  the  spit  near  Niagara 
Falls,  which  has  long  been  used  as  a  ridge  road,  and  I  nown  as  Lundy 
Lane,  and  where  the  interpretation  of  the  strand  was  discov(  red.  The 
Algonquin  and  Lundy  gulfs  were  the  successors  of  the  Warren  water 
after  its  dismemberment  by  the  level  falling  below  that  of  Forest 
beach. 


•  Reprinted  from  Amer.  Jour.  set.  xlviii,  p.p.  -207-21!;,  March,  1891.  t"  Deformation  of  the 
Iroquois  Boach  and  Birth  of  Lake  Ontario."    Am.  Jour.  8c.,  vol .  xl,  p.  413, 1830. 

i  "  Deforraatlon  of  the  Algonquin  Beach  and  Birth  of  Lake  Huron."  The  same,  vol.  xli,  p. 
18,  :  891. 

t  "  High-level  Shores  in  the  Begion  of  the  Qreat  Lakes  and  their  Deformation."  The  same, 
vol.  xli,  p.  201— all  by  J.  W.  Spencer. 


!•   I 


' 


LUNDT   BbAOH. 


69 


Between  Front-hill  and  Ebenezer  (fig.  13)  there  wa8  an  extension 
of  the  Erie  waters  into  the  Ontario  basin  through  a  strait,  if  such  it 
can  be  called,  as  it  was  over  30  miles  across.  The  country  in  the 
Niagara  district  is  a  plain  from  10  to  15  feet  above  Erie  Lake.    It  is 


Fia  IS.— Map  of  LuDdyshi. re,  enclosing  Lundy  Gulf.  A,  Infant  Lake  Erie.  N,  mouth  of 
Niagara  River.  F,  Niagara  Falls.  L,  Lundy  beach  near  the  Falls.  J,  Johnson's  ridge.  Ele- 
vations refer  to  sea-levels. 

rer  dered  somewhat  undulating  by  a  few  ridges  of  drift  rarely  rising 
30  feet  higher.  A  rocky  ridge  of  20  or  30  feet  above  the  lake  is 
parallel  with  the  shores  of  Ere,  a  mile  or  two  to  the  north  of  its  outlet. 
But  the  most  notable  ridge  culminated  in  Drumraondville,  near  the 
falls,  at  144  feet  above  the  lake  level.  This  is  a  small  knob  at  the  end 
of  a  long  spit  which  is  the  historic  Lundy  Lane.  The  surface  of  this 
strand  is  30  feet  belcw  the  knob  just  noticed.  This  ridge  formed  a 
spit  which  was  the  first  barrier  that  appeared  between  the  Erie  and 
Ontario  basins,,  and  here  the  waters  last  lingered  before  they  subsided 
within  the  lower  basin.  The  knob  at  Drummondville  is  not  an  undu- 
lation of  the  Lundy  shore,  although  it  is  made  up  of  beach-material,  but 
belonged  to  a  higher  level.  Whether  a  fragment  of  an  older  strand  or 
not,  still  equivalent  remains  of  deserted  water-lines  are  found  at  Font- 
hill,  Akron  and  elsewhere. 

The  crest  of  the  Lundy  beach  is  from  100  to  200  feet  wide  and 
forms  a  conspicuous  sand  and  gravel  ridge  of  more  than  double  this 
width  at  the  base,  to  which  it  slopes  —  20  or  30  fett  below,  and 
bounds  an  extensive  plain  on  both  sides,  as  it  constituted  a  spit  between 


i-   K 


1      ' 


i      \ 


|;  ji  (I 

1 1;  J 


i  il 


m 


:1         .p 

!*■  ii- 


60 


Deformation  of  Lundy  Bkach. 


t  ; 


m 


* 


the  Erie  and  Ontario  baHins,  which  wore  cotinected  by  a  broad  shoet  of 
open  water.  After  extending  westward  from  the  Niagara  river  for  two 
or  three  miles,  tlie  Lundy  beaeh  ia  interrupted  by  a  lo  -v  plain,  but 
again  the  strand  nkirts  Font-hill  (which  rises  about  300  feet  above 
Lake  Erie)  and  trends  southwestward.  On  the  southeastern  side  of 
tlie  strait,  the  beach  is  equally  charactenstic,  near  Kbene/er.  It  has 
been  traced  to  Akron  or  about  five  miles  due  north  of  Crittenden, 
where  the  Forest  beach  was  surveyed  several  j'eais  ago  by  Mr. 
Gilbert. 

At  Ebenezer,  the  Lund}'  beach  has  an  altitude  oi  000  feet  (bar.) 
above  tide  (Lake  Erie  being  573  feet);  at  Lundy  Lane  the  elevation  is 
687  feet  (and  the  older  knob  30  feet  higher);  at  Font-hill  it  is  675  feet 
(bar.)  oi  equivalent  to  the  lower  at  7o5  feet.  Fragments  of  beaches 
and  terraces  have  been  made  known  about  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario 
and  also  about  the  Erie  basm,  but  they  have  not  been  previously  corre- 
lated with  the  Lundy  sh.ire.  The  Lundy  strand  ii  between  140  and 
165  feet  below  the  plain  of  the  Forest  l)each,  and  it  is  usually  from  two 
to  five  miles  lakeward  of  it.  Between  the  different  strands  of  Warren 
water  there  is  a  slight  deformation  of  the  deserted  shores,  owing  to  the 
unequal  terrestrial  movement.  A  somewhat  greater  amount  of  warp- 
ing is  recorded  between  the  Fortst  and  the  Lundy  beaches,  but  the 
greatest  amount  of  deformation  wis  after  the  dismenibtrraent  of 
Lundy  Gulf.  West  of  Cleveland,  very  little  deformation  of  the  old 
water  lines  has  occurred.  From  the  relation  with  the  Forest  beach, 
the  extension  of  Lundy  Gulf  towards  the  west  can  be  ap})roximately 
delimited.  The  lake  reached  to  Point  Pelee  and  the  islands  opposite. 
The  eastern  extension  beyond  Akron  has  not  been  surveyed.  But 
enough  is  known  to  mark  the  boundary  in  the  Erie  basin ;  and  here  we 
find  the  counterpart  of  the  Algonquin  beach,  of  the  basins  of  the  upper 
lakes,  whose  water  plain  was  at  substantially  the  same  levels  as  the 
Lundy,  or  about  150  feet  below  that  of  the  Forest  beach.  The  Lundy 
water  gives  us  the  history  of  the  lake  basin  between  the  Warren  epi- 
sode and  the  nativity  of  Lake  Erie. 

After  the  Lundy  rest,  the  waters  were  gradually  drained  to  lower 
levels,  until  they  were  held  in  the  Erie  basin  by  a  Devonian  limestone 
escarpment,  rising  20  or  30  feet  above  the  present  outlet  of  Erie.  The 
remains  of  another  rocky  barrier,  of  40  feet,  now  occurs  over  a  mile 
north  of  the  present  site  of  Niagara  Falls.  The  country  between  these 
ridges  is  low,  so  that  there  were  pond-like  expansions  of  the  Niagara 
until  a  recent  date,  when  the  falls  cut  through  this  William  Johnson* 
*  Named  after  Sir  William  Johason,  who  took  posaassioa  of  the  falls  about  1760. 


LuNDT  AND  Iroquois  Planes. 


61 


ridge.  Below  thlH  ridge,  for  six  miles,  to  the  brow  of  the  escarpment, 
the  Niagara  river  draiiied  the  Erie  waters,  and  boats  might  have  sailed 
from  lake  to  lake.  The  waters  in  the  Ontario  basin  did  not  \mu»e  long 
at  this  high  level,  but  gradually  sank  to  the  Inxjuo's  ])lain  300  feet 
below  the  pliin  of  Lundy  beach.  The  Iroijuois  be,  Ai  marks  a  long 
rest  during  which  the  early  Niagara  cascaded  only  200  feet  from  the 
upper  to  the  lower  lake,  and  Erie  formed  only  the  lakelet  as  shown  on 
the  map  (fig   13). 

Upon  the  dismemberment  of  Warren  water,  the  Algonquin  basin 
emptied  its  waters,  at  first  through  a  strait  by  way  of  Lake  Nipissing, 
and  later  by  a  river  in  the  same  region  into  the  Ottawa  valley.  There 
was  no  connection  between  the  Huron  basin  and  the  Erie  until  after 
the  terrestrial  <leformation  following  the  Iroqouis  episode.  Then  the 
Huron  waters  overflowed  the  southern  rim  of  its  basin  and  emptied 
into  the  youthfid  Lake  Erie.  The  outlet  of  the  Krie  basin  was  also 
raised  so  that  the  plains  at  the  head  of  its  basin  were  flooded.  This 
tilting  has  contiinied  until  the  beach  in  the  vicinity  of  the  falls  h  now 
raised  about  100  feet  above  its  submerged  extension  near  Point  Pelee. 
Of  this  amount  of  tilting,  only  46  feet  have  contributed  to  the  pond- 
ing back  of  the  walers  so  that  the  lake  now  extends  to  Toledo.  The 
deformation  of  the  Lundy  loach  in  the  Niagara  district  amounts  to 
2'i)  feet  per  mile  in  direction  N.  10°-15°  E.  More  detailed  measure* 
mcpts*  n>ay  possibly  show  that  the  warpirg  may  reach  nearly  three 
feet  per  mile.  Ihe  deformation  of  the  Iroquois  beach,  which  is  newer 
than  the  Lundy  strand,  amounts  to  somewhat  more  than  two  feet  per 
mile  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara. 

Had  the  falls  receded  past  the  Johnson  ridge  before  the  deforma- 
tion of  the  region  had  reached  the  present  amount,  the  Erie  drainage 
would  have  been  turned  into  the  Mississippi  at  Chicago,  just  as  the 
warping  has  changed  the  direction  of  the  outlet  of  Lake  Huron  from 
the  Ottawa  to  the  St.  Clair  river.  This  brings  us  to  tie  first  possible 
computation  of  the  rate  of  the  terrestrial  deformation  of  the  old  shore 
of  the  lake  region. 

A  rise  of  seven  feet  in  the  level  of  Lake  Michigan  would  send 
the  waters  of  that  lake  over  the  rocky  divide  to  the  Mississippi. 
A  rise  of  16  feet  in  the  Erie  level  would  effect  the  same  result; 
but  the  silt  covering  this  rocky^fioor  rises  three  or  five  feet  higher 
and  the  Johnson  ridge  has  been  praised  so  that  the  deserted  banks 
indicating   the   old   surface  of    the  Niagara  r^ver   are   now   40   feet 

*  Some  of  these  measurements  were  baromttric  from  ^adjacent  known  levels,  and  cocse- 
quently  closer  calculations  were  useless. 


t» 


02 


Rate  or  Tkbbbstbial  Klbvation. 


above  the  Erie  level.  Thus  it  becomcB  apparent  that  the  eleva- 
tion of  about  the  I.iHt  20  fuet  haH  taken  place  Hince  the  receasion  of  the 
falls  past  the  JohnHon  ridge,  for  otherwise  Hueh  a  large  river  with  a 
great  breadth  would  have  emptied  the  lakes  and  the  recession  of  the 
falls  must  have  ceased.  That  the  water  was  recently  higher  about  the 
head  of  Lake  Michigan  than  now,  the  swampy  tlats  bear  witness,  and 
the  low  lands  continue  far  southward,  so  that  the  rockv  floor  of  the 
country  —  only  seven  feet  above  the  lake  level  (Os!«ian  (iuthrie)  is  26 
miles  distant  from  the  lake.  Over  this  extensive  plain,  the  low 
country  has  been  a  swamp,  and  drained  sluggishly  in  both  directions 
while  silting  over,  to  the  extent  of  a  few  feet,  the  rocky  floor  of  the 
country.  IJut  the  entire  Jrainage  of  Lake  Michigan  to  the  southwest 
could  not  have  been  established.  The  lowering  of  the  water  by  a  few 
feet  in  the  Michigan  bahin  as  well  as  in  the  Erie  ha?*  been  produced  by 
the  recession  of  the  falls  past  the  Johnson  ridge. 

From  the  modern  ra  e  of  the  recession  of  the  falls,  which  is  about 
four  feet  a  year,  and  the  distance  of  6,000  feet  which  the  falls  have 
receded,  since  passing  the  Johnson  ridge,  we  find  that  the  terrestrial 
warping  in  the  vicinity  of  Niagara  Falls  c  »uld  not  have  exceeded  24 
feet  in  1,500  years,  or  1.5  feet  a  century.  But  with  the  silting  up  of 
the  Chicago  (more  correctly  Lemont)  overflow  not  more  than  20  feet 
(or  possibly  15  feet  if  the  waters  were  deeper)  of  the  last  uplift  of  the 
Johnson  ridge  have  been  developed  since  the  recession  of  the  falls 
through  that  ridge.  Thus  the  rate  of  terrebtrial  deformation  or  uplift 
in  the  Niagara  di^trict  dots  not  exceed  1 .25  a  century,  with  a  possible 
reduction  to  one  foot  in  the  same  time,  if  the  secular  rate  were  uni- 
form. But  there  have  doubtless  been  episodes  of  rest  and  others  of 
uplift,  so  that  the  actual  rate  of  movement  might  have  been  more 
rapid,  but  the  above  estimate  is  the  average  during  these  times  of 
elevation  and  intervening  repose. 

The  agents  of  the  deformation  in  the  Erie  basin  have  not  been  so 
continuous  or  so  active  as  in  other  portions  of  the  lake  region;  but  if 
a  mean  rate  for  long  epochs  can  be  taken  as  here  indicated,  then  nearly 
13,000  years*  have  elapsed  since  the  Lundy  beach  commenced  to  be 
deformed.  The  Iroquois  beach  is,  however,  more  accurately  measured. 
In  the  vicinity  of  the  outlet  of  Lake  O'^tario  the  deformation  is 
double  that  in  the  Niagara  district.  At  that  outlet  the  tilting  has 
amounted  to  370  feet  by  the  post-Iroquois  movement,  and  at  2.5  feet 
a  century  about  14,800  years  have  elapsed  since  the  close  of  the  episode 

*  160  feet  divided  by  1  to  1 .  25  feet  a  century . 


Chanqb  or  Drainaqi. 


68 


of  the  formation  of  thut  (IcHerttMl  Hhoro  line.  Tiio  oonjootural  mean 
deformation  over  long  epocliH  closely  accords  with  our  best  computa- 
tionH  of  the  age  of  the  fallH,  which  will  make  another  chapter  in  the 
lake  history. 

The  inferred  rate  of  terrestrial  deforradtion  in  the  Niagara  district 
is  1.25  feet  a  century;  2.6  feet  at  the  oui!<3t  of  Lake  Ontario;  and  2 
feet  northeast  of  Lake  Huron.  These  figures  may  be  of  use  in  reading 
the  future  of  Lake  Erie. 

Applied  to  the  Erie  basin,  the  indicated  deformation  continuing,  it 
appears  that  before  Niagara  Falls  can  have  rece<led  past  the  Devonian 
ridge  near  liuffalo,*  the  drainage  of  the  ui)per  lakes  will  have  been 
turned  into  the  Mississippi  Valley,  just  as  the  Huron  waters  have  been 
turned  from  the  old  Nipis»ing  channel  and  Ottawa  river  to  cascade 
over  the  falls;  and  thus  may  require  6,000  or  0,000  years.  In  this  case 
the  future  life  of  the  lakes  will  be  very  long;  as  their  drainage  will 
only  be  effected  by  the  excavation  of  a  deep  valley  backward  from  the 
Mississip])!  river  into  the  lake  basins. 

*  TheHe  estlmatea  will  be  more  fully  explained  In  a  following  chapter  upon  the  history  of 
Niagara  Falli. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


Deformation  of  the  Algonquin  Beach,  and  Birth  of  Lake 

Huron.* 

From  the  ship's  deck,  my  attention  to  the  high  terrace,  which  skirts 
the  coast  of  Georgian  IJay,  was  first  attracted.  But  long  before, 
fragments  of  this  ancient  shore-line  were  used  by  the  Algonquin 
Indian?,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Iroquois  tribes  had  trailed  over  the 
"  Ridge  Roads  "  of  Ontario  and  Erie.  INIr.  Sanford  Flemming,  C.  E., 
described,  in  1853,  some  of  the  drift  ridges  at  the  head  of  Georgian 
Bay,  and  recognized  certain  high  level  beaches.**  Later  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Canada  measured  the  elevation  of  some  of  the  raised  ter- 
races, f  But  those  early  investigators  did  not  recognize  either  the 
extent  of  the  beaches  o  .leir  deformation  from  the  wa*er  level.  No 
systematic  explorations  of  the  olu  shores  were  made  until  the  summers 
of  1887  and  1888,  when  the  writer,  assisted  by  Professors  W.  W. 
Clendenin  and  W.  J.  Spillman,  surveyed  portions  of  them.  In  the 
autumn  of  1887,  Mr.  G.  K.  Gilbert  visited  some  of  the  Canadian  ter- 
races. In  August,  1838,  I  abruptly  left  the  field  «,nd  reported  some 
results  before  the  Cleveland  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for 
the  Adva:icemeut  of  Science.J  Some  reference  to  the  Georgian  Bay 
beaches  were  made  in  "  The  Iroquois  Beach,"  etc.,  §  and  later  Mr.  Gil- 
bert generalized  u])on  the  history  of  the  U|)per  Lakes,  in  an  interesting 
paper  entitled  "  The  History  of  the  Niagara  Kiver,"||  wherein  some  of 
his  raised  shore  lines  were  taken  from  ray  survey,  unpublished  portions 
of  which  having  been  f urn  shed  to  him. 

Upon  the  (^anadian  side  of  the  lakes,  there  are  well  preserved  shore- 
lines, marking  the  same  episodes  as  those  upon  the  American  side, 
when  all  the  lakes  were  covered  by  a  common  sheet  of  water  (the 
Warren  water  or  gulf).  These  raised  beaches  have  been  more  or  less 
surveyed,  but  they  belong  to  an  episode  earlier  than  that  recorded  in 
the  beach,  which  confined  the  waters  to  the  Upper  Lake  basins  not 

♦  Reprinted  from  Am.  Jtur.    gee  vol.  xH,  pp  11-?1.  1691. 

**  Valley  of  NottawasaKO,  Cau.,  Jour.  Torontj,  wl.  i,  3653.  t  Geological  Survey  of 
Canadn,  1663. 

t  "  NoteH  on  tbe  Origin  and  History  of  the  Great  Lskea  of  North  America,"  by  J.  W.  Spencer, 
Proc   A.  A..  A.  8,  vol.  xxxvil,  1888. 

S  "The  Ircquioa  Beach,  a  Chapter  on  the  Geological  History  of  Tjake  Ontario."  Read  before 
Phil.  Soc.  Waeb.,  Jan.  1888,  and  Roy.  Hoc.  Can.,  May,  1889.    Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  Can.,  1869. 

g  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  State  Reservation  of  Niagara  for  1889. 


DisTRiBunoN  OF  Beaohes. 


65 


embracing  that  of  Lake  Erie.  This  beach,  which  skirted  the  head  of 
Lake  Huron,  cutting  off  the  waters  from  the  Erie  basin,  is  now  sub- 
merged at  its  southern  end,  but  it  rises  as  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the 
topography  of  the  country.  I  have  named  it  after  the  Indians  who 
long  ago,  used  it  for  a  trail  —  the  Algonquin  Beach.*  It  forms  the 
basis  of  this  paper. 

Between  Lakes  Huron,  Ontario  and  Erie,  at  respective  altitudes  of 
682,  573,  and  247  feet  above  the  sea,  the  land  rises  to  1,709  feet.  It 
shows  water  action  to  within  20  feet  of  its  summit.  From  the  highest 
ridges  or  plains,  the  land  falls  away  towards  the  lakes,  sometimes 
gradually,  but  often  by  abrupt  step«,  especially  upon  the  northeastern 
side.  Over  this  peninsula,  there  are  many  ridges  of  drift.  Exclusive 
of  the  ridges,  the  general  surface  of  the  country  is  composed  of  fine 
stony  till,  or  of  modified  drift,  —  the  product  of  wave  action  upon  the 
stony  clay,  the  result  of  which  has  been  the  formation  of  beach  ridges 
of  sand  and  gravel,  separated  by  plains  of  silt  or  clay  soil.  In  many 
cases,  the-^e  floors  slope  so  gently  as  to  appear  level,  and  from  two  to 
five  or  six  miles  may  intervene  between  successive  beaches,  whose 
altitudes  do  not  differ  by  more  than  50  or  60  feet.  The  silt  on  these 
plains  is  that  which  was  washed  out  into  the  deeper  water,  by  the 
assorting  action  of  the  waves  that  were  building  sand  or  gravel  beaches 
in  front  of  their  coast  line,  composed  of  the  older  stony  clay.  In  such 
cases,  the  lithological  recognition  is  striking.  Upon  surveying,  the 
beaches  are  all  found  to  rise  in  altitude  toward  the  north  and  east, 
with  a  slightly  increasing  divergence  between  the  ridges  in  the  same 
direction,  for  the  differential  uplift  has  always  been  greater  toward  the 
northeast,  than  in  the  opposite  direction 

The  methods  of  invectigalion  have  been  similar  to  those  pursued  in 
the  survey  of  the  Iroquois  Meach.  Boulder  pavements  are  rather  more 
important  features  of  the  Algonquin  Beach  than  of  the  Iroquois. 
About  the  head  of  Georgian  Bay  the  country  is  sandy.  East  of 
Georgian  Bay,  there  is  the  same  kind  of  broken  wilderness  as  that 
among  the  Arohjen  rocks  of  the  Adirondack  Mountains  of  New  York, 
with  more  or  less  stony  sand  in  place  of  stony  clay. 

The  waves  of  the  lake  are  encroaching  upon  the  eastern  coast  of 
Huron,  and  consequently  modern  beach-making  is  not  a  characteristic 
feature,  excei)t  in  proximity  to  the  mouths  of  some  streams  or  in 
sheltered  plates,  where  terraces  or  bars  are  constructed.  The  encroach- 
ments of  the  lake  upon  the  land  have  washed  away,  in  many  places,  the 
bluffs  upon  which  the  Algonquin  Beach  rests.     But  a  sufticient  number 

*  The  name  was  first  printed  in  Pioc  A.  A.  A.  S.,  p.  199,  1888, 

9 


I*  ■  "I 


rl 


■    Si 


:l 


I  Rl 


66 


Altitudes  of  the  Algonquin  Bbaoh. 


i 


of  fragments  remain,  for  its  identification,  especially  as  the  position 
relative  to  its  elevation,  compared  with  the  next  higher  shore-lines, 
which  are  well  marked  by  beaches,  is  known. 


Fia.  14.  —  Map  showing  the  Algonquin  Beach  about  the  eastern  portion  of  Algonquin  Gulf. 

other  beaches  are  also  shown. 

The  following  table  gives  the  levelled  elevations  of  salient  points 
along  the  Algonquin  Beach,  at  or  near  the  places  mentioned: 

Feet  above  the  sea 

Surface  of  Lake  Huron 582  (U.  S.  Lake  Survey.) 

Beach  at  one  or  two   miles  lakeward  of 

modern  outlet  of  Lake  Huron,  calculated,  662  (Levelled.) 

Grand  Bend  (of  Au  Sable  River) 602  " 

Wilson's  (14   miles  northward,  terrace    at 

608  feet,  calculated) 618  " 

Eighteen  Mile  Creek  (terrace  637  feet,  calcu- 
lated)   647  (Barometer.) 

Southampton    (back  of  which  a  sand  dune  • 

rises  13  feet  higher) 714  (Levelled.) 

Thence  the  beach  skirts  Indian  Peninsula, 

and  at  Owen  Sound 749  " 

Clarksburg 773  " 

Collingwood,  4  miles  west  of 767  " 

Colwell 762 

Elmsvale 802  " 

Wyebridge,  east  of 842  " 


Altitudes  of  Bkaohks. 


67 


tion 
ines, 


& 


i 


iln  Gulf, 
points 

urvey.) 


Feet  above  the  sea. 

Orillia,  about 800  (Barometer.) 

Thence  the  beach  descends  and  swings 
around  Lake  Sitneoe  and  again  rises  at 
Kirkfield 875  (Levelled.) 

Burk's  Falls (+  or  -)  (?)  1171  (N.  W  &  N.  Ry.) 

Beyond  Kirkfield,  the  survey  was  not  carried,  but  from  the  topog- 
raphy of  the  country  and  from  the  fragments  of  the  beaches,  the 
position  of  the  Algonquin  Beach  is  approximately  that  of  the  broken 
line  on  the  map.  The  gravel  ridge  at  Burk's  Falls  is  probably  part  of 
the  beach,  as  the  mean  rate  of  northern  rise  would  represent  its  position 
near  this  point. 

For  comparison  with  the  Algonquin  Beach,  the  positions  and  the 
elevations  of  the  two  next  higher  beaches,  east  of  Lake  Huron,  are 
given  in  fig.  14,  and  the  tables  of  elevations  are  here  added.  Of 
next  beach,  at  or  near: 

Fett  above  the  aea. 

Forest 720  (Spencer.) 

Parkhill,  east  of 736  " 

Bayfield,  east  of 767  " 

Ripley 813  " 

Walkerton  (terrace) 825  *• 

Paisley  (terrace) 860         " 

Burgoyne  (east  of  Southampton) 876  " 

Rockford,  north  of 916  " 

North  coast  of  Lake  Simcoe  (probably  that)  on  the 

insular  ridge,  north  of  Barrie 910         " 

Of  the  second  beach,  above  the  Algonquin,  at  or  near: 

Watford 77b  " 

Ailsa  Craig 789         «' 

Varna 845  (-f )  " 

Walkerton 944  « 

Chatsworth 986  " 

A  still  higher  beach  has  been  surveyed  for  many  miles,  and  several 
fragments  of  even  more  elevated  shores  are  now  well  identified.  Some 
of  these  upper  beaches  have  been  traced  over  long  distances,  and  have 
been  found  resting  upon  the  land  north  of  Lake  Erie,  and  even  extend- 
ing to  the  high  country  between  Lake  Ontario  and  Georgian  Bay. 

From  the  figures  recorded  in  the  three  tables,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
mean  rate  of  warping  in  the  Algonquin  Beach,  from  the  southern  end 
of  the  lake  to  near  Southampton,  is  1.33  feet  per  mile;  of  the  next 


I  5m 


!!■  F 


"•Rll 


s 


68 


Thk  Lowbb  Beaches  of  the  Hubon  Basin. 


beach,  bet\yeen  Parkhill  and  Burgoyne,  1,6  feet;  and  of  the  higher 
beach,  betweed  Watford  and  Walkerton,  1.71  feet.  These  rates  of 
differential  uplift  are  reduced  at  their  more  southern  extensions,  but 
increased  to  two  feet,  or  somewhat  more,  at  the  more  northern. 

After  skirting  the  Indian  Peninsula,  the  position  of  the  Algonquin 
Beach  surrounding  the  head  of  Georgian  Bay  is  such  that  it  can  be 
triangulated,  and  hence  the  average  amount  of  uplift,  as  well  as  its 
direction  can  be  obtained.  Accordingly,  it  is  found  that  the  uplift 
upon  the  more  southwestern  portion  of  the  beach,  at  the  head  of  the 
bay,  is  about  3  feet  per  mile,  in  a  direction  of  N.  20°  E.,  with  an  eastern 
equivalent  of  about  one  foot  per  mile.  The  uplift  increases  so  that  east 
of  Georgian  Bay  the  mean  rise  is  4.1  feet  per  mile  in  a  direction  of 
N.  25°  E.,  with  the  eastern  equivalent  of  1.7  leet  per  mile. 

At  Grand  Bend,  the  beach  rests  upon  a  fine  stony  drift  clay  —  the 
latest  deposit  of  till  in  that  region  —  which  is  charged  with  numerous 
scratched  stones.  It  is  also  indistinctly  stratified.  The  same  holds 
true  at  Wilson's  and  other  place".  About  Georgian  Bay,  it  also  rests 
upon  the  upper  till.  In  short,  the  waves,  which  formed  the  beach, 
have  commonly  removed  the  silt  dpi)0r^its  that  covered  the  floor  of  the 
lake  during  the  earlier  episodes  of  the  higher  beachen,  and  cut  into  the 
underlying  drift  deposits  during  the  Algonquin  episode,  before  the 
beach  structure  was  laid  down.  In  many  places,  es|>ecially  about 
Georgian  Bay,  the  boulder-pavements  are  well  developed,  especially 
between  the  different  ridges  of  the  Algonquin  Beach,  for  it  is  often 
broken  up  into  a  series  of  prominent  ridgelets,  the  lowest  being,  where 
developed,  as  much  as  28  feet  below  the  upper. 

There  are  several  beaches  about  Georgian  Bay,  at  lower  altitudes 
than  the  Algonquin,  but  these  rise  less  rapidly  toward  the  northeast 
than  the  greater  named  beach.  At  Clarksburg,  there  is  a  beach  at  81 
fejt  above  the  lake,  and  terraces  at  62  and  45  feet,  besides  a  numerous 
series  of  beaches  extending  from  28  feet  down  to  the  water  level.  Near 
Wyebridge,  the  more  conspicuous  terraces  are  at  about  133,  73,  55  asd 
11  feet  above  the  lake;  and  there  are  numerous  fainter  shore  lines 
These  all  show  that  the  time  of  the  subsiding  of  the  waters  was  marked 
by  numerous  pauses. 

Between  Kirkville  and  Balsam  Lake,  there  is  a  depression  a  few  feet 
below  the  level  of  the  v^^per  part  of  the  Algonquin  Beach.  But  of 
this  later. 

No  animal  life  has  been  found  in  the  beach  itself.  But  in  a  terrace, 
adjacent  to  the  Saugeen  River  (bridge  east  of  Southampton),  where 
there  is  an  embayment  of  the  Algonquin  Beach,  there  is  a  bed  of  fresh- 


Relationbhip  of  THE'ALGO^QinN  AND  Iroquois  Plaims.    69 


water  shells,  discovered  by  Mr.  Spillman.  This  is  an  altitude  of  90  feet 
above  the  lake,  or  over  40  *below  the  beach.  This  deposit  may  have 
been  on  the  floor  of  the  lake  during  the  Algonquin  episode,  or  it  may 
belong  to  a  lower  water-level.  The  river  has  now  cut  down  its  bed  far 
below  this  level.  At  the  head  of  Georgian  Bay,  fresh- water  shells 
have  been  found  up  to  78  feet.* 

There  are  several  depressions  across  the  Laurentian  tablelands, 
between  Lake  Huron  and  Hudson  Bay  which  do  not 
rise  much  more  than  900  feet  above  the  sea.  But  towards  the  north- 
east, the  altitude  of  the  land  is  everywhere  high,  except  along  the 
depression  in  which  Lake  Nipissing  lies.  The  barrier  there  descends 
to  707  feet  above  the  sea.  Beaches  and  shore  lines  are  known  to  exist 
upon  the  land  norih  of  ihe  lakes,  and  I  have  seen  such  upon  Manitoulin 
and  Mackinac  Island.  But  they  have  not  been  directly  connected  with 
the  more  southern  beaches.  Consequently,  all  deductions,  in  the  study 
of  the  lake  involving  that  district,  must  be  somewhat  provisional. 
From  the  character  of  the  terrestrial  rise  increasing  towards  the  east,  it 
is  probable  that  there  are  no  depressions  north  of  Lake  Huron,  lower 
than  the  plain  of  the  Algonquin  Beach.  This  beach  (by  calculation 
from  the  mean  rate  of  rise)  should  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake 
Nipissing,  at  the  from  600  to  700  fett  above  that  depression. 

Combining  the  Canadian  series  of  beaches  about  the  upper  lakes  with 
corresponding  series  on  the  southern  side  of  the  lakes  (my  survey  of 
those  in  Michigan  appears  in  chapter  VII),  I  find  that  there  has  been  a 
differential  elevation,  since  the  Algonquin  episode,  between  the 
southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan  and  the  vicinity  of  Grand  Bend,  on 
Lake  Huron,  amounting  to  about  290  feet.  Hence,  we  know  that  the 
Algonquin  plain  was  down  to  a  level,  at  least,  of  less  than  300  feet 
above  the  sea.  By  a  triple  series  of  calculations,  the  Algonquin  plain 
is  found  to  have  had  a  position  somewhat  less  than  300  feet  above  the 
Iroquois  plain.  The  Algonquin  water  filled  the  Huron  basin  to  within 
a  mile  or  two  of  its  southeru  end,  where  the  beach  is  now  submerged 
to  about  20  feet,  (calculated).  Hence,  the  waters  did  not  flow  by  the 
modern  St.  Clair  River  to  the  south.  At  the  time  a  considerable  area 
of  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan  was  laid  dry,  as  the  beach 
bounding  the  Algonquin  water  should  now  be  submerged  to  290  feet 
below  the  waters  at  head  of  lake.  But  the  northern  part  of  the 
Michigan  and  Huron  basins  was  filled  to  an  elevation  far  above  their 
present  surfacC;  as  the  basins  had  not  yet  received  that  gri^at  tilting 

*  Geology  of  Canada,  160). 


70 


Beaches  in  thk  Michigan  and  Superior  Basins. 


!  ;■ 


i') 


which  partly  overflowed  their   southern  margins  and  lowered  their 
surfaces  toward  the  north. 

There  is  a  well-marked  terrace  and  beach  deposit  on  Mackinac  Island, 
at  about  190  feet  above  the  lake.  This  is  nearly  in  the  lii.e  of  strike* 
or  line  along  which  there  is  no  differential  elevation,  of  the  lowest  part 
of  Algonquin  Beach  about  Georgian  Bay.  This  old  shore  line,  on  the 
island,  is  better  developed  than  any  of  the  Huron  Beaches,  situated 
elsewhere,  except  the  Algonquin.  From  its  position,  there  seems  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  the  w.yers  of  Algonquin  Gulf  stood  at  that  eleva- 
tion in  the  strait  between  ine  Michigan  and  Huron  basins.  Accord- 
ingly, tilting  in  the  Michigan  basins  has  amounted,  since  the 
Algonquin  episode,  to  about  430  feet  in  300  miles,  or  a  little  more. 
This  approximation  is  close  upon  the  mean  rate  of  uplift  measured 
east  of  Lake  Huron.  Parenthetically,  it  may  be  added  that  Piesident 
Chamberlain  found  clays  upon  the  western  side  of  the  lake  which  repre- 
sent a  differential  uplift  of  400  feet  (although  they  belong  to  an  older 
episode),  which  were  in  part  involved  in  the  earlier  Pleistocene 
n'ovements. 

The  Algonquin  water  also  covered  most  of  Lake  Superior,  probably 
to  within  a  short  distance  of  its  southwestern  end,  as  that  basin  is  so 
deep;  yet  the  waters  must  have  been  very  much  shallowed.  Indeed, 
the  recent  backing  of  the  waters  towards  the  head  of  Lake  Superior  is 
apparent  in  the  open  bays  behind  the  bars,  which  cut  off  Fond  du  Lac, 
at  Duluth.  The  area  of  the  Algoncjuin  Gulf  or  water  may  be  seen 
from  what  has  been  written,  to  have  been  vastly  greater  than  now, 
filling  the  upper  lake  basins,  nearly  to  their  extreme  margins,  and 
overflowing  the  land  northeast  of  Georgian  Bay,  as  shown  on  the  map. 
On  Mackinac  Island  and  adjacent  portions  of  the  mainland,  there  are 
several  shore  lines  lower  than  that  assigned  to  the  Algonquin  plain  and 
of  inferior  importance. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  Algonquin  water  (gulf),  there  was  an 
overflow  by  way  of  Balsam  Lake  and  the  Trent  valley.  My  first 
impressions  of  the  importance  of  this  outlet  were  overdrawn  in  the 
preliminary  communication  *  of  observations  from  the  field,  before  all 
of  the  relations  had  been  explored.  At  first  I  attached  as  much 
impoitance  to  the  Balsam  outlet  of  the  Algonquin  basin  as  Mr.  Gilbert 
did  to  his  Mohawk  outlet  of  the  Iroquois  basin.  As  both  are  too 
shallow,  the  demands  are  satisfied  in  neither  caee.  Only  at  its  highest 
level  did  the  Algonquin  Lake  overflow  into  Balsam  Lake.    Even  the 


•Proo.  Am.  Asscc.  Adv.  Scl  ,  1888,  p.  ".97. 


The  Nipissino  Outlet. 


n 


overflow  was  sluggish,  permitting  of  the  formation  of  beaches  about 
the  outlet.  Before  Algonquin  water  sank  to  the  level  of  its  lower 
beaches,  its  discharge  was  by  a  channel  below  Balsam  outlet.  The 
occurrence  of  an  overflow  in  this  last  direction,  is  only  one  of  the 
coincidences,  as  in  other  cases,  in  the  growth  of  the  lake.  The  outlet 
of  the  Algon<iuin  Basin,  by  way  of  Lake  Nipissing  and  the  Ottawa 
valley,  was  through  a  depression,  which  now  rises  to  707  feet  above 
tide.  This  trough  has  an  absolute  depression  of  168  feet  feet  below  the 
Algonquin  Beach  at  Kirkfield.  J3ut  the  altitude  of  the  beach,  in  the 
region  of  the  old  Nipissing  outlet,  is  estimated  at  600-700  feet  above 
its  floor.  In  short  the  outlet  Avas  a  broad  strait  leading  into  the 
Iroquois  Basin,  or  like  the  modern  connections  between  Lake  Michigan 
Lake  Huron,  and  Georgian  Ba}',  unless  the  basin  were  closed  by  a  dam, 
and  that  of  ice.  The  case  is  not  settled  so  easily  as  that  of  the 
Ontario  basin,  for  we  have  not  yet  the  iustrumenlally  measurable 
proof  that  the  Algonquin  plain  was  lower  than  300  feet  above  the  sea, 
although  it  probably  was,  and  against  which  probability  there  is  not 
the  slightest  evidence,  for  we  do  not  know  what  was  the  initial  plain  of 
upward  movement.  AVithout  applying  the  objections  made  to  an  ice 
dam  closing  the  Ontario  basin  during  the  Iroquois  episode,  let  us 
examine  some  conditions  of  the  Algonquin  basin. 

The  Algonquin  plain  stood  at  an  elevation  of  about  300  feet  above 
the  sea,  when  the  lower  Troquois  Beach  commenced  its  growth.  Were 
its  waters  held  up  to  that  altitude  by  an  ico  dam,  or  had  they  shrunken 
to  the  lower  level  ( which,  however,  would  not  have  dismembered 
the  upper  lake )  and  where  they  connected  with  Gulf  of  Iroquois  by  a 
strait  300  or  400  feet  deep,  like  the  modern  outlet  of  Lake  Michigan  ? 
Up  to  this  time,  there  had  not  been  any  warping  to  separate  the 
lake  basins,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  barriers  has  been  uplifted  since 
the  episodes  of  the  Algonquin  and  Iroquois  Beaches.  I  have  shown 
that  the  greater  j)roportion  of  the  differential  movement,  even  in  the 
higher  beaches  about  Lake  Erie  h.as  been  since  the  Iroquois  episode.* 
In  the  earlier  part  of  this  paper,  it  has  also  been  shown  that  most  of. 
the  warping  of  the  bea'ihes,  east  of  Lake  Huron,  has  been  since  the 
Algonquin  episode.  Now  these  higher  beaches  are  identical  with  those 
south  of  Lake  Erie,  whose  movement  have  been  compared  with  those 
of  the  Iroquois  Beach.  Hence,  it  is  not  ditticult  to  understand  that 
the  unequal  uplift  of  both  the  Algonquin  and  Iroquois  plains  has  been 
mostly,  since  the  completion  of  the  latter  beach.  I  speak  only  of 
the  differential  movements  that  have   deformed  the  old   water  levels, 

*  "  Deformation  of  the  Iroquois  Beach,"  etc.      Am.  Jour.,  8c.,  vol.  x,  page  4*3,  J8fO. 


!' 


72 


IIypothstioal  Ice  Dam9. 


and  not  of  the  absolute  rise,  which  lifted  the  Algonquin  plain  above 
the  IroquoiH,  unless  the  waters  which  made  the  former  beach  were 
retained  at  the  higher  altitude,  for  long  ages,  by  an  ice  dam. 

At  most,  no  ice  barrier  could  have  longer  blocked  the  Nipissing 
outlet  than  the  episode  of  the  lowering  of  the  waters,  300  feet,  to  the 
level  of  the  Iroquois  Beach,  for  at  that  time,  all  glaciers  had  shrunken 
back  beyond  the  Ontario  basin,  and  the  two  basins  were  connected  by 
the  deep  Nipissing  Strait.  And  of  such  a  dam  we  have  not  proof, 
or  probability,  to  even  as  great  an  extent  as  in  the  case  of  a 
hypothetical  Iroquois  dam.  With  the  continued  regional  uplift,  the 
waters  of  Algonquin  Gulf  were  further  lowered,  as  is  shown  by  the 
numerous  beaches,  until  the  lake  was  dismembered,  and  /Superior, 
Michigan,  Huron  and  Georgia  had  their  birth  and  drained  through 
the  last,  at  the  level  of  the  Nipissing  outlet,  only  by  a  river  flowing 
into  the  valley  of  the  Ottawa.* 

As  we  ascend  to  the  elevation  of  the  higher  beaches,  the  question 
of  glacial  dams  becomes  more  difficult,  for  we  must  assume  them  to 
have  been  hundreds  of  miles  long  and  at  enormous  altitude,  damming 
up  bodies  of  water  which  had  the  proportions  of  inland  seas.  Such  I 
do  not  here  propose  to  construct  or  dissipate,  but  I  am  compelled  to 
assume  the  initial  plain  of  the  Algonquin  Beach  at  sea-level,  irrespec- 
tive of  glficiers  which  may  then  have  been  moving  into  the  St.  Law- 
rence valley,  and  obstructing  open  communication  with  the  sea,  but 
not  damming  the  waters  at  high  levels.  There  is  as  much  evidence  of 
submergence  in  these  deserted  beaches  as  there  is  in  Professor  Shaler's 
beachesf  up  to  1,500  feet,  on  Mt.  Desert  Island,  without  the  interven- 
tion of  dann,  or  of  Mr.  McGee's  Columbia  forraationj  which  I  have 
seen  in  Alabama,  at  altitudes  of  about  700  ftet,  without  the  support  of 
dams.  Indeed,  there  is  additional  evidence,  for  crustaceans  of  marine 
species  have  so  adapted  themselves  as  to  still  live  in  the  depths  of  Lake 
Superior,§  as  also  maritime  plants  upon  its  shores. || 

As  Algonquin  water  received  so  much  fresh  water,  the  marine  con- 
ditions, indicated  above,  were  modified,  so  that  almost  immediately 
after,  if  not  during  the  formation  of  the  Algonquin  Beach,  the  waters 

*See  also  History  of  the  Niagara  River,  by  Q.  K.  Gilbert. 

t  Geology  of  Mouot  Desert,  by  N.  S.  Shater.  Eighth  Annual  Report  of  U.  8.  Qeoiogical  Sur- 
vey, 1888. 

%  By  W.  J.  Melee.    Bull.  Geol.  See.  Am.,  vol.  i,  1889. 

§  "  On  the  Deep- Water  Fauna  of  Lake  Michigan  ''  (Stimpson)  Am.  Nat.,  Vol.  iv.,  p.  408, 1870 : 
also  "The  Crustacea  of  the  Fresh  Waters  of  the  United  States."  (Sidney  I.  Smith).  Rep. 
Fish  Commissioner,  1872-8,  p.  618. 

I  '•  The  Distribution  of  Maritime  Plants  in  North  America."  (0.  H.  Hitchcocic).  Proc.  A.  A. 
A.  S.,  1870. 


OhANOE   Ol-   OUTLBT. 


78 


became  sweet,  as  is  shown  by  shells  referred  to  above.  With  the  con- 
tinued emergen'ie  and  northeastward  warping  of  the  continent,  a 
rooky  barrier  across  the  Nipissing  outlet  was  raised  which  eventually 
caused  the  waters  of  Georgian,  Huron  and  Michigan  Lakts  to  unite 
and  overflow  the  southern  extension  of  the  lower  beaches.  Finally, 
this  warping,  as  before  pointed  out,*  so  tilted  the  basins  of  the  lakes 
that  the  waters  overflowed  the  rim  of  the  Huron  basin,  and  established 
the  modern  drainage  of  the  upper  lakes  by  way  of  Lake  Erie.  Not 
until  this  event  did  the  lakes  assume  their  present  form. 


♦Notegupon  theOrlnln  and  History  of  the  Great  Lakes  of  North  America. 
A.  8.,  TOl.  xzzTii.,  p.  m,  1883. 

10 


Proo.  A.  A. 


f'fia 


A.  A. 


'is 


CHAPTER    VII. 


ii 


It  i! 


High  Level  Shores  of  Warren  Water  (Oulf )  and  their 

Deformation.* 

Cbrtain  of  the  deserted  shores  about  the  Great  Lakes  have  been 
already  described  in  the  author's  papers  on  the  Iroquois  and  Algonquin 
Beanhes  f  The  Iroquois  Beach  is  confined  to  the  Ontario  basin,  and 
the  Algonquin  Beach  still  defines  the  deserted  shores  of  the  lake  which 
embraced  Georgian  Bay  and  Lake  Huron,  Michigan  and  Superior  dur- 
ing the  episode  when  they  formed  one  expanded  sheet  of  water.  But 
above  these  beaches  there  are  others  not  confined  to  any  of  the  exist- 
ing basins,  but  at  elevations  which  required  all  of  the  lakes  to  have 
been  united  into  one  sheet  of  wjiter.  This  sheet,  whose  dimensions 
have  only  in  part  been  surveyed,  I  named  Warren  water.J  As  the 
southern  and  southwestern  shores  have  been  surveyed  for  a  length  of 
800  or  OGO  miles,  and  several  hundred  miles  of  the  coast  line  about  the 
former  large  island,  now  represented  by  a  part  of  the  Province  of 
Ontario,  are  known,  the  work  seems  to  justify  this  publication  without 
further  delay  (see  map,  p.  75). 

In  the  investigation  of  the  high  beaches,  I  acknowledge  with  great 
pleasure  the  assistance  of  Prof.  W.  W.  Clendenin  and  Prof  W.  J. 
Spillman,  who  accompanied  me  in  the  researches.  Respecting  the 
beaches  upon  the  Canadian  side  of  the  lake,  no  other  systematic 
exploration  has  been  made.  Four  or  five  years  ago,  some  of  our 
friends  put  ice  dams,  where  beaches  are  well  developed,  to  hold  up  the 
waters  whose  waves  built  up  the  beaches  upon  the  southern  side  of 
Lake  Erie.  In  Michigan,  the  record  was  nearly  as  meagre,  although 
some  of  the  beaches  had  been  used  as  roads  since  the  days  of  Indian 
habitation.  But  in  Ohio,  more  or  less  work  had  been  d  jne,  which  will 
be  referred  to  in  its  proper  place.  Upon  both  sides  of  the  St.  Clair 
River,  a  succession  of  beaches  may  be  seen,  in  ascending  inland  over  the 

*  Reprinted  from  Amer.  Jour.  Sci.  vol.  xli,  pp.  201-311, 1891. 

t  The  Ircquoia  Beach:  A  chapter  In  the  OeoloKic  U  History  of  Lake  Ontario.  Trana  Roy. 
Boo.  Can.,  p.  181, 1889.  Deformation  of  the  Iroquois  Beach  and  Birth  of  Lalce  Ontario.  Am. 
Jour.  Sc.,  vol.  xl,  p.  443, 180^  Deformation  of  the  Algonquin  Beach  and  Birth  of  Lake  Huron. 
Ibid.,  vol.  xll,  p.  18, 1891. 

t  See  Notice  of  Ircquoia  Beach,  Science,  vol.  xl,  p.  49,  Jan.  87, 1888. 


■>] 


Gulf  or  Wabren. 


75- 


■ 


t 


76  BBAOnB)  OF   THR    GuLF   (F    WaBRBN. 

fllowly  rising  plains.      The  heaclies  are  of  the  same  character  as  thoHo 

described  in  the  author'n  earlier  pajicrH  u|>on  ancient  nhoros.     But  thoy 

appear  to  represent  a  rather  shorter  time  in  formation  than  tlio  Iroquois 

and  Algon(iuin  Heaches. 

The  Forest  Beach. — Upon  the  Canadiansido  of  the  St.  Clair  River, 

the  lirst  important  dcHcrted  shore  line,  above  the  Algon«iuin  IJeaoh, 

may  be  seen  at  Forest — and  htnco  I  will  name  it  the  Forest  Hoach. 

This  has  been  explored  in  both  directions   from  Forest,  shown  on  the 

map,   with  elevations  as  in   the   table  —  these  being   instrumontally 

levelled. 

Feet  aboTe 
the  sea. 

Lake  Huron 682 

Forest 720 

East  of  Parkhiil 736 

Near  Bayfield 767 

Ripley 813 

Walkerton  (terrace  in  valley) 825 

PaisU'v  (terrace  in  valley) 860 

East  of  Burgoyne 876 

Roekford  (spit  acroso  valley)  916 

Barrie  (on  insular  ridge)  910 

East  of  Roekford  the  country  is  not  favorable  for  the  identification  of 
the  old  beaches,  as  they  were  interrupted  by  the  promotory  of  Blue 
Mountains  extending  into  the  former  sheet  of  water,  but  on  it  various 
rock-terrace  shore-lines  are  engraved.  On  the  drift  hills  farther  east, 
ridges  reappear  at  elevations  above  the  Algonquin  Beach,  which 
would  point  to  their  identification  with  the  Forest  Beach.  In  this 
northeastward  direction  our  survey  was  discontinned. 

From  Forest,  the  beach  has  been  explored,  upon  the  northern  side  of 

Lake  Erie,  and  the  equivalent  terraces  traced  to  north  of  Lake  Ontario. 

The  measured  elevation  at  various  points  are  :  Feet  above 

the§ea. 

Komoko  (terrace  in  valley) 722 

White  Station  (south  of  London) 716 

Near  Waterford 770 

Brantford 806 

Pushlinch  Church  (rock-terrace) 840 

Georgetown  (terrace) 891 

Mono  Road  (terrace)   930 

North  of  StouflFville  (terrace) 1 ,026 

The  terrace  is  a  strong  topographical  feature,  especially  after  passing 
over  the  Niagara  escarpment  near  Georgetown.  The  differential  eleva- 
tion of  the  Forest  Beach,  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of  the 


582 
720 
,    736 
,    767 
.    813 
.    826 
.    860 
.    876 
.   916 
.    910 
ion  of 
Blue 
aiioua 
'  east, 
which 
.n  this 


722 
715 
770 
806 
840 
891 
980 
1,025 
passing 
I  eleva- 
of  the 


AsKONA  Bkaoh.  )t 

Province  of  Ontario,  in  1.44  feet  per  niile  in  a  (lirecti<m  of  N.  28°  E. 
But  northeast  of  Toronto  thlH  warping  has  increased  to  three  feet  per 
mile  as  it  treiulH  north  of  east,  wiili  the  direction  of  the  niaxiinum  rise 
not  determined.  This  warping  is  in  harmony  with  the  deformation  of 
the  Iroquois  Heach,  in  the  name  region,  l)eing  only  nlightly  in  excess, 
as  it  should  ho.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  explore  the  extreme 
eastern  and  northern  portions  of  the  Forest  Beach,  around  the  island  of 
the  Province  of  Ontario. 

77ie  Arka/Hi  /teach. — This  heach  is  less  perfect  than  tlie  Forest 
Beach.  It  is  promii\ent  at  Arkona,  rises  to  7B0  feet  east  of  Ailsa 
Craig,  passes  by  Varna  and  Ripley,  and  near  Walkerton  has  an  eleva- 
tion of  944  feet.  At  Chatsworth,  the  spit  across  the  valley  at  985  feet, 
l)robal)ly  belongs  to  tluH  shore-line.  No  further  explorations  liave  heen 
made  in  tliis  direction.  Southwest  of  Arkona,  the  beach  has  an  eleva- 
tion of  773  feet  at  Waterford  ;  754,  on  a  river  terr.ace  near  Kcmioko  ; 
736  (?)  at  Taylor  ;  770,  on  the  plains  at  St.  Thoma?) ;  792  at  Cornith  ; 
804  at  Delhi.  lie>  ond  this  point  there  are  shore  remains,  at  903  feet 
near  Paris;  a  terrace  at  Limehouse,  at  9  0,  and  at  Stouffville,  a  gravel 
ridge  skirting  higher  land,  at  1,175  feet.  Tliese  latter  fragments  may 
be  the  equivalents  of  the  Arkona  Beach.  But  these  last  named  shore- 
lines continue  the  upward  succession  of  deserted  water-lines  even  if 
not  identical  with  the  Arkona  Beach.  This  beach  is  imperfectly 
explored,  and  is  more  or  less  interrupted,  like  other  shore-lines,  in  the 
lake  region  as  well  as  those  nearer  the  sea  coast,  such  as  on  Mt.  Desert 
Island. 

RUlffeway  and  Higher  Jieaches. — Above  the  Arkona  Beach,  the  next 
shore-line  is  here  named  Ridgeway  Beach,  (as  this  a  suitable  name  for 
its  counterpart  in  Michigan).    Its  elevation,  near  the  following  places,  is: 

Fe*t  above 
the  aea. 

Komoko 848 

Lucan  Junction 891 

Hensall 925 

Lucknow 989 

As  the  object  of  our  surveys  was  for  the  more  especial  investigation 
of  the  lower  beaches,  the  explorations  were  not  carried  throughout 
the  distribution  of  the  higher  beaches.  But  beaches,  spit  across  valleys, 
and  terraces  carved  out  of  the  Niagara  escarpment  were  seen  in  many 
places  at  altitude?  which  would  correspond  to  the  continuation  of  this 
shore-lines.  Back  and  above  this  beach,  there  is  a  belt  of  flat  plains, 
corresponding  to  the  frontal  plains  of  still  higher  deserted  coast- lines. 
Indeed,  in  the  fragments  seen,  several  other  still  high  coast-lines  are 


lif 


78  High  Level  Beaches. 

recorded.  The  altitudes  of  several  of  these  are  here  given,  and 
those  marked  with  an  asterisk  are  in  topographical  positions  that  would 
permit  of  their  identity  with  the  Ridgeway  Beach,  which  has  not, 
however,  been  continuously  traced  between  all  the  points. 

Feet  above  the  sea. 

Seven  miles  south  of  London , *882 

Seven  miles  south  of  London 872 

Seven  miles  south  of  London 862 

Near  IngersoU *924 

Near  IngersoU    911 

Near  IngersoU  (terrace) 903 

Corwhin  (rock-cut  terrace  with  gravel  floor) *1,127 

Acton  (rock-out  terrace  with  gravel  floor) *1 ,  160 

Near  Mono  IMills  (rock- terrace) 1 , 400  (bar.) 

Near  Mono  Mills  (gravel  terrace)   1 ,375  (bar.) 

Near  Mono  Mills  (terrace) 1 ,20('  (bar.) 

West  of  Colling  wood  (rock-terrace) 1 ,400  (bar.) 

West  of  Clarksburg  (beach) 1 ,  396 

West  of  Clarksburg  (beach) 1 , 3v 2 

West  of  Clarksburg  (rock-terrace) 1 ,  262 

West  of  Clarksburg  (rock  terrace) 1 , 225 

Duncan  (rock  terrace) 1 ,  260  (bar . ) 

N.  E.  of  Flesherton  (terrace  with  gravel  floors) 1 ,430  (bar.) 

Dundalk  (beach  remnant) 1 ,  690 

Proton  (plains)  1 ,  630 

South  of  Maikdale  (terrace) 1 , 435  (bar . ) 

South  of  Markdale  (terrace) 1 ,4(  0  (bar.) 

Markdale  station  (terrace) ,     1 ,  36C 

Two  miles  north  of  Berkley  (gravel  pit) 1 , 260  (bar.) 

Arnott  (terrace)   1 , 067 

The  beach  remnant,  in  the  region  of  Dundalk,  is  only  20  feet  below 
the  highest  point  of  land,  which  once  formed  a  small  island.  From 
this  point  down  to  sea-level,  there  is  abundant  proof,  in  the  beaches, 
spits,  sea-cliffs,  and  cut  terraces,  that  there  was  a  long  succession  of 
intermittent  episodes  of  subsiding  waters  from  the  highest  lands  of  the 
peninsula  of  Ontario  —  lands  often  higher  than  the  highlands  north  of 
the  Great  Lakes,  which  now  constitute  the  Laurentian  mountains  — 
care  having  been  taken  to  distinguish  these  named  structures  from 
those  gravel  deposits  belonging  to  the  older  drift  episodes.  Even 
after  allowing  for  the  amount  of  more  recent  terrestrial  warping,  these 
higher  shores  of  Ontario  rise  far  above  much  of  the  land  to  the  south 


FoBEBT  BiBAOH. 


79 


of  the  lakes.  All  of  tlie  deserted  water-margins  are  more  recent  than 
the  drift  deposits,  and  some  of  them  are  cut  out  of  the  third  series  of 
till,  which  covers  ridges  and  plains  of  much  of  the  highlands  of 
Ontario.  The  highlands  of  the  peninsula  then  rose  up  as  a  growing 
island  out  of  the  receding  Warren  water. 

The  position  and  relative  heights  of  the  beaches  of  the  two  sides  of 
the  St.  Clair  River  are  seen  in  the  following  section,  which  represents 


'Maume?  Beach, 

"^-^^^^rhCona  Beach     ror&stBeaOi 

;         ;    — ^-torestjaeact. — f" 

;'        ^i         :     .Stf^car/iiver        .  j 


/iidgewayBeaci 
y?rkonaBeacJ 


S=rrrS^ 


— ':fc-=l?^//_a5_ 


Fia  16.— Section  across  3t.  Clair  valley, 
a  profile  across  them  along  a  nearlj^  east  and  west  line.  Making  allow- 
ance for  the  terrestrial  deformation  between  the  beaches  themselves,  it 
will  be  readily  seen  that  there  is  only  a  slightly  greater  amount  of  rise 
between  members  of  the  series  upon  the  eastern  side  than  upon  the 
western,  and  this  is  in  harmony  with  all  the  observations  elsewhere 
about  the  lakes.  Hence,  I  have  been  forced  to  accept  the  identity  of 
the  two  sets  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  St.  Clair  river,  as  there  are  no 
important  intervening  shore-markings  on  the  plains  between  the  named 
ridges,  although  those  upon  the  western  side  are  more  sandy  than  on 
t'ae  eastern. 

The  Forest  beach  skirts  the  plains  at  the  head  of  Saginaw  Bay  and 
passes  around  the  thumb  of  Michigan. 

Feet  above  the  sea. 
Five  miles  west  of  Port  Huron,  duny  beach  with  elevation  of,  666 

East  of  Berville 668 

Sylvania 663 

East  of  Defiance  (Gilbert) 663 

Cleveland 673  (bar.) 

Madison 680 

Sheridan  Centre,  N.  Y.  (Gilbert) 773 

Crittenden,  N.  Y.  (Gilbert; 860 

The  Arkona  beach  has  an  elevation  of  — 

Goodall,  near  .-    697 

Denton .694 

Blissfield  (ridge  duny) 694 

Cleveland 708 

A  record  of  this  shore-line  is  more  meagre  than  the  last.  Both  of 
these  beaches  have  been  more  or  less  surveyed  in  Ohio  by  the  late 
Geological  Survey  of  that  State,*  and  Mr.  G.  K.  Gilbert  has  measured 

Oeology  of  Ohio,  vol.  i,  map,  p.  510. 


13 


ii 


80 


ElDOEWAT   BbAOH. 


n\ 


t   |_ 


ii  \ 


the  continuation  of  the  lower  for  some  distance  beyond  the  State  line, 
into  New  York.  The  Lower,  or  Forest  beach,  is  identical  with  that 
numbered  four  of  the  Ohio  Survey,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Kvie.  Spits 
and  spurs  are  frequently  given  off  from  these  beaclies,  and  add  some 
difficulty  to  the  surveying,  especially  in  Ohio. 

The  Ridgeway  Beach,  or  next  highest  shore-line,  is  the  most 
important  of  the  whole  series,  as  it  has  been  explored  for  the  greatest 
distance,  and  is  perhaps  the  easiest  of  identification.  On  it,  many 
long  stretches  of  dry  roads,  bounded  by  muddy  plains,  have  been  used 
from  the  first  settlement  of  the  country.  The  other  ridges  have  also 
in  places  been  used  for  roads,  but  to  a  less  extent. 

Elevations  on  the  Ridgeway  Beach  determined  by  Zeveling. 

Feet  above  the  sea. 

Lake  Michigan  and  Lake  Huron 582 

Lake  Erie 663 

Beach  near  Chicago  (calculated) 526-542 

Near  Columbia,  Mich 618  (bar ) 

Allegan  (terrace)  in  valley 643 

Grand  Rapids 670 

Pewamo 724 

Chapin 760  (bar.) 

East  of  Eramett 770 

Near  Berville 753 

East  of  Ypsilanti ...     734 

West  of  Lenawee  Junction 735 

Defiance,  Ohio 738  (Gilbert.) 

Cleveland 743  (Geol.  Ohio.) 

Madison 740  (bar.) 

Sheridan  Centre,  N.  Y 834  (Gilbert.) 

Hamburgh,  N.  Y 870  (+  or  —  20) 

(Gilbert.) 

Throughout  the  windings,  this  coast  line  has  been  explored  for  eight 
or  nine  hundred  miles.  The  highest  beach  south  of  Chicago  is  only 
42  feet  above  the  lake,  and  this  probably  belongs  to  a  series  to  be 
noted  hereafter,  and  from  it  the  position  of  the  Ridgeway  Beach  is 
calculated.  The  country  southeast  of  Lake  Michigan  is^  very  sandy 
and  duny,  and  thus  it  is  more  difficult  to  recognize  the  exact  water- 
margins  than  farther  east  where  the  beaches  are  narrow  ridges  between 
clay  plains.  From  Grand  Rapids  to  Pewamo  the  beach  passes  through 
a  straight  between  high  lands  on  both  sides.  This  dej)re8sion  is  now 
occupied  by  the  Grand  River,  between  the  head  waters  of  which,  and 
those  draining  into  Saginaw  Bay,  the  divide  does  not  exceed  a  height 


tin 
\v; 
til 
M; 


Mal:mkk   Bkach. 


81 


e  line, 

h  that 

Spits 

I  some 

most 

reatest 

many 

sn  used 

ve  also 


bio.) 

■•) 
■  20) 

ilbert.) 

or  eight 
is  only 
■s  to  he 
^each  is 
sandy 
t  water- 
between 
through 
I  is  now 
lich,  and 
a  height 


of  100  feet  above  the  lakes,  although  tlie  land  risen  many  hundred  feet 

on  both  sides.     Indeed,  from  even   west  of  Pewarao  the  low   embay- 

ment  widens  and  forms  the  broad  Hat  plains  at  the  head  of  Sa'^inaw 

IJay.     But  these  plains,  for  lialf  their  length,  are  drained  to   the  west, 

by   the  Grand  River,  although  they  were  formerly  the  floor  of  the 

lately'   enlarged   Saginaw   Bav.      ITenee,  the   topography   shows. the 

re^-^ersal  of  the  drainage,  hy  a  slight  uplift  towards  the  east  and  north, 

which  in  the  region  of  Pewanio  amounts   to  about  a   foot   |)er  mile. 

This  rise  eontinues  to  Chapin,    whence  the  beach  rises  towards  the 

northeast  and  passes  around  the  thumb  of  Michigan,  and  descends  to 

about  a  mile  east  of  Kmnu^tt.     From  the  crossing  of  the  beach,  east  of 

Yl>silanti,  to  Lenawee,  there  is  no  terrestrial    warping   as   shown  bv 

instrumental  measurements.     The  occurrence  of  this  beach,  although 

not   identified   thronghout   any    distance,  was   described  by  Prof.  A. 

Winchell.*     From  Lenawee,  the  Ridgeway  Beach  extends  into  Ohio, 

and  becomes  identical  with  the  beach  of  the  Maumee  Vallev,  called  bv 

Mr.  Gilbert  number  three  f     Thence  it  extends  eastward  with  natural 

interruptions.     From  Ohio  it  has  been  traced  iiit')  New   York  by  Mr. 

(iilbert.     The  portion  south  of  the  western  half  of  the  lake  practically 

shows  no  deformation,  but  between  Madison  and  Sheridan  Centre,  it 

rises  about  a  foot  per  mile,  while  the  lower,  or  Forest  Bea(!h  rises  in  the 

same  distance  only  about  three-quarters  of  a  foot,  although  eastward 

of  that  point  the  last  named  beach  rises  two  feet  per  mile. 

At  the  head  of  the  Maumee  valley,  a  fragment  of  beach,  about  30 
feet  higher  than  the  Ridgewav  Beach,  was  described  in  the  Geolojrv 
of  Oino  I  This,  however,  is  onl}'  occasionally  met  with.  A  beach  at 
Grand  l^iijids,  I\Iicli.,  at  700  feet,  and  a  terrace  near  Allegan  at  689, 
may  be  the  equivalent  of  that  in  Ohio, 

TJie  Maumee  Beu'/i,.  —  This  is  the  next  liigliest  of  the  well  defined 
beaches  which  have  been  stndied.  That,  at  42  feet  above  the  lake  at 
Chicago,  is  probably  identical  with  the  beic  h,  which  has  been  traced 
from  tlic  southeastern  side  of  the  lake,  as  it  is  in  the  topographical 
position  in  which  we  would  expect  to  find  it.  But  the  country  is  very 
sandy  and  duny. 

The  beach  is  identical  witli  Mr.  GiFoert's  lunnber  one  at  the  head  of 
the  Maumee  valley,  and  hence  the  suitability  of  the  name.  Wlien  tlie 
water  was  at  this  level,  Mr.  Gilbert  regarded  the  outflow  of  the  lake  as  by 
the  Wabash  River,  The  divide,  at  the  head  of  this  river,  from  the 
Maumee  drainage  was  nearly  60  feet  below  its  surface.^     But  it  was 

*aeolof(y  of  Washtecaw  County,  by  A,  Wlnchell,  1881. 
+aeolo;?y  of  Ohio,  map,  p.  649  ilbid. 

SleoloKy  of  Ohio,  vol.  i.,  p.  B51. 

11 


1     li 


82 


Deformation  of  Beaches. 


not  then  known  tliat  tliis  desert  shore  extended  througliout  the  Sag- 
inaw valley  to  the  Michigan  basin.  Nor  had  the  moderately  coni|)lete 
and  accurately  nieasar«d  Ridgeway  Beach  been  surveyed,  and  ihe 
warping  movements  measured  therefrom.  From  the  jnesent  informa- 
tion, it  will  .'it  once  be  seen  that  the  same  slicetof  water  had  also  access 
to  the  Mississippi  drainage  by  the  de])ression  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Michigan,  which  is  twenty  feet  or  more  below  the  highest  beach  in  the 
vicinity,  the  probable  e(]uivalent  of  the  Maumee  Beach,  east  of  the 
lake,  now  about  a  hundred  feet  above  its  surface,  near  Columbia. 

JiJlevcttiotis  of  Manrnee  Beach,  near  : 

Feet  above  the  sea, 

Columbia,  Mkh.  (dunes  rise  to  699  feet) 083 

Allegan  (dunes  to  V40,  terrace) IIS 

East  of  i'ewamo  (barometric) 841 

Iralay 849 

licrville 817 

Ypsilanti  (terrace) 784 

Adrian 789 

Fort  Wayne  (Gilbert) 788  i.>  778 

Cleveland  (Geol.  Ohio) 786 

Amount  of  Warping  in  the  preceding  Beaches. — Across  the  State  of 
Michigan,  the  Maumee  i3cach  records  a  differential  eastward  or  north- 
eastward elevation  of  scarcely  more  than  a  foot  per  mile,  while  that 
of  the  Ridgeway  Beach,  in  the  same  direction,  is  a  little  lees  than  a 
foot  per  mile. 

West  and  south  of  Lake  Erie  the  une(pial  movement  is  reduced  to 
almost  zero.  But  east  of  Lake  Erie  the  uplift  reaches  two  feet  ]ier 
mile,  as  recorded  in  the  F'orest  Beach. 

East  of  Lakr  Huron,  the  Arkona  Beach  rises  to  the  northeastward 
at  1.71  ^eet  per  mile,  and  the  parallel  and  younger  Forest  Beach  at  1.5 
feet,  'ihe  still  younger  Algonquin  Beach*  rises  1.33  feet  east  of  Lake 
Huron.  Tliis  warping  increases  so  that  east  of  Georgian  IJay  it  amounts 
to  4.1  feet  j)er  mile,  ia  direction  N".  25  E.  The  explored  beaches  north 
of  Lake  Erie  have  an  accelerated  rise,  so  tiiat,  northwest  of  Lake 
Ontario,  it  amounts  to  3  feet  or  more  per  mile,  in  the  higher  water 
marsrins.  !f  the  higher  shore-lir.es  in  the  Adirondacks  could  be  and 
were  surveyed,  we  would  expect  a  differential  elevation  to  the  north- 
east of  more  than  six  or  seven  feet  per  mile,  as  that  amount  has  been 
raea^ared  in  the  lower  Iroqi;  is  Beach,  f  But  most  of  the  differential 
crust  movement  has  been  since  the  Iroquois  and  Algonquin  episodes. 

•  "  Doformatfon  of  the  Algonquin  Beach,"  etc.,  Am.  Jour.  8cl,  vol.  xH,  1891,  p.  15. 
t  "Deformatica  of  tba  Iroquois  Be&cb,"  etc.,  Aic.  Jour.  Sci.,  vol.  £l,  16C'0,  p.  ii"!. 


IfKJH  Lkvkl  Shorks. 


83 


B  Sag- 
mi>lete 
nfl   llie 
forma- 
)  access 
•f  Lake 
II  in  the 
of  tUe 
a. 

ve  the  sea. 
683 

71^ 

841 

849 

81T 
784 
789 
88  v->  778 
786 

e  State  of 

or  nortb- 

kvhile  that 

;es  than  a 

e J need  to 

0  feet  ])er 

.lieastwanl 
each  at  1.5 
ist  of  Lake 

it  amounts 
U'his  nortli 

St  of  Lake 
iofhor  water 
uUl  I'c  and 

the   north- 
lit  has  been 

differential 

1  episodes. 

p.  16. 

.447. 


Jliff her  coast  lines.— Them  were  sheets  of  water  preceding  the 
Mauniee  episode,  for  .icross  the  liiglier  lands  of  Michigan  there  are 
extensive  belts  of  flat  land  or  plains  often  covered  in  part  with  gravel 
floors,  and  in  jiart  with  silt,  The\'  are  the  exact  counterpart  of  the 
plains  in  front  of  the  lower  beaches,  althougli  more  eroded  by  the 
streams  cutting  down  to  the  lower  levels.  Tlius  extending  from  the 
vicinity  of  Kalamazoo  there  is  an  extensive  plain,  with  a  floor  of  well- 
rounded  gravel,  bounded  on  the  south  by  ridges  but  with  a  generally 
open  and  deseending  country  to  the  north.  On  this  plain  I  have 
traveled  for  forty  miles  to  eastward  of  Marshall,  and  could  see  in  it  no 
other  history  than  that  of  the  bottom  of  some  ba^'^  in  front  of  ridges 
of  drift  hills  towards  the  south.  The  barometric  height  taken  from 
the  station  at  Kalamazoo  gives  the  plain  or  terrace  an  elevation  of  912 
feet  above  the  sea.  Farther  east  the  measurements  reached  944 
feet.  In  the  vai'eys,  there  are  lower  river  terraces  probably  correspond- 
ing to  the  Maumee  Beach.  The  amount  of  warping  in  the  region  is 
very  little.  It  has  also  been  noted  that  there  is  scarcely  any  deforma- 
tion south  of  Lake  Erie  until  passing  eastward  of  Madison,  Ohio.  It 
is  well  known  that  there  are  at  least  four  troughs  in  Ohio  connecting 
the  Erie  valley  with  that  of  the  Ohio  River,  having  summit  floors  at 
elevations  of  between  909  and  940  feet  above  the  sea,  composed  of 
drift  materials,  and  that  there  are  teiraces  at  the  northern  end  of  those 
valleys.*  The  terraces  at  the  head  of  th^  Mahoning  valley  is  a  good 
example.  It  is  ])robable  that  the  graxel  plains  of  Michigan  and  the 
terraces  in  Ohio,  connected  with  these  meridional  troughs,  are  identical 
in  age.  But  here  is  room  for  investigation.  In  Michigan  there  are 
other  and  higher  gravel  flats  than  those  just  referred  to. 

Professor  Rominger  records  beach-like  deposits  at  1,682  feet  above 
the  sea  on  the  highest  lands  near  the  northern  part  of  the  lower  penin- 
sula of  Michigan. f  Professor  K.  Desor  noticed  other  similar  deposits 
at  considerable  elevations  in  the  northern  peninsula  of  that  State.J 
Mr.  A.  Murray  long  ago  reported  a  series  of  beaches  on  the  northern 
side  of  Lake  Superior.^  Profchsor  H.  Y,  Hind  observed  Krraces  at 
Great  Dog  Portage,  north  of  the  same  lake  at  1,4,S5  feet.lj  Other 
beaches  at  1,100  feet  have  been  reported  in  Wisconsin,  None  of  these 
have  I  seen,  and  do  not  know  which  of  them,  except  those  north  of 
Superior,  l)elong  to  true  beaches,  for  I  have  everywhere  had  to  distin- 

•  QeoloKy  of  Ohio,  vol.  ii,  p.  47. 
t  Geology  of  Michigan,  vol.  Ill,  p  10. 

t  S«e  BeachPH,  etc.,  between  Lakes  Mich.  «nd  8up.,  by  E.  Desop  In  Foster  and  Whltney'8 
Report,  vol.  II. 
$  Geology  of  Canada  for  18(i). 
Ueport  upon  AHiSnIbolne  and  Saskatchewan  Expedition,  1859,  p.  130. 


I 


84 


TIiou  Lkyel  Terraces. 


guinh  between  plain  shore  structures  and  those  forms  wliich  go  under 
the  name  of  kantes,  osar,  ete. 

It  is  due,  in  part,  to  the  delay  in  systematic  iiivestij^ation,  that  we 
owe  our  ignorance  of  the  high-level  shore-markings  in  New  York. 
Terraces  and  delta  de])08its  occu)  al;Mit  S-neca  and  Keuka  Lakes  and 
elsewhere  in  New  York.  The  gv-i\"A  piain  at  Morseheadsat  the  divide, 
south  of  Seneca  Lake  vail-,  v  ha.?  an  ■(■ovation  of  000  feet.  The  valley 
is  a  mile  or  more  wide.  '!•.  free  drainage  tv)wards  the  south.  Is  this 
shore  deposit  the  equi  .,  i  of  ilia  F.^rest  or  some  other  beach  ?  In  a 
lateral  valley,  immediatel  to  tiit  east  of  Uorseheads,  there  is  a  well 
marked  terrace  at  an  eleva  ;on  of  .,:iOO  fett.  This  terrace  j)lain  oould 
not  liave  been  formed  unless  the  waters  tille<l  the  vallej's  at  IIorsehead«., 
which  is  onlv  three  or  four  miles  awav,  to  a  de])th  of  .TOO  feet. 

The  terraces  of  the  Genesee  River,  up  to  1,!>J0  feet  above  the  sea, 
or  2.^0  above  the  river,  and  the  records  north  of  the  Adirondack 
Mountains  tell  the  same  story  of  water  everywhere,  at  elevations 
indicating  one  vast  sheet,  extending  over  the  lake  basins,  and  only 
obstructed  by  the  great  islands  of  Ontario  and  Michigan,  with  beaches 
far  higher  than  the  now  numerous  valleys,  radiating  to  the  north,  east, 
south  and  west.  The  margins  by  this  shrinking  Warren  Water  were 
constantly  contracting,  as  shown  by  the  beaches,  l)ut  its  full  dimeu'^iions 
are  not  vet  known. 

Until  these  investigations  are  further  e>  tended,  this  chapter  in  the 
history  of  the  lake  regions  cannot  be  eompletrd.  Its  beginninir  was 
at  tlie  close  of  the  drift  episode  c-f  the  Pleistocene  jierind,  iind  its 
dismemberment  was  the  episode  of  the  birth  of  the  Ab^juinjuin  and 
Lundy  Grii^fs,  which  afterwards  became  lak*s.  I>ut  whether  tliis  fjreat 
sheet  of  water  existed  as  an  arm  of  the  sea,  or  a  glacial  lake,  may  be 
questioned  by  the  opposing  schools.  The  abseru'e  of  marinr-  beaches 
seem  to  be  an  obstacle  f)n  one  side.  A  sheet  of  water,  at  least  600 
or  700  miles  long  and  400  miles  wide,  with  several,  or  many  outlets  rpon 
its  southern  side,  ai>peare  still  more  unfavorable  to  the  suppoeition  of 
an  ice  dam  to  the  east,  of  mare  than  2.000  feet  in  thickness,  beneath 
which  a  river  as  great  as  the  St.  Lawrence  was  flowing,  and  continuing 
for  the  centuries  wirul*  carved  out  the  terraces  and  beaches.  Indeed, 
some  of  the  sea  cliffs  of  the  highlands  of  the  Ontario  ]icninsula,  as  well 
as  terraces  and  beaclies  indicate  a  long  wave  action.  The  arguments 
set  forth,  against  the  glacial  character  of  the  Inxjuois  and  Algonquin 
Beaches,  obtain  with  greater  force  when  applied  to  those  of  the 
Warren  W^ater.  But  let  the  hypotliesis  of  glacial  dams  be  considered 
in  a  separate  chapter. 


-■-■i 


CHAPTER     VIII. 


Post-Pleistocene  Subsidence  Versus  Glacial  Dams.* 


(See  map,  fl(?.  1".,  naK«  75  j 

Gknkrai,  Continkntal  Oscillatioxs. 

Tlie  growing  interest  in  the  evolution  of  tlie  continent  now  calls  for 
more  accurate  information  than  formerly,  regardijig  the  changes  of 
level  of  land  and  sea  in  recent  gcologii-al  tinics.  As  these  oscillations 
constimied  some  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  building  of  the 
(4reat  Lakes,  the  study  of  their  history  has  contributed  to  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  changing  relations  of  the  continent  and  the  sea. 

From  investigation  of  the  submerged  channels  along  the  American 
coast,  it  has  been  shown  that  the  continent  was  greatly  elevated  dur- 
ing some  ('])och  or  epochs  intervening  between  the  middle  JMioeene  and 
the  early  Pleistocene  periods.  Th(>  elevation  of  the  land  was  over 
3,000  feet  higher  than  now,  and  probably  reached  fcr'  a  short  time  to 
over  5,000  feet.+ 

This  elevated  condition  of  the  continent  was  followed  by  a  depres- 
sion of  the  land  to  far  below  the  jtresent  altitude  before  the  upward 
movement  ))roduced  the  n(»w  existing  condition.  There  may  have 
been  more  than  one  episode  of  elevation  aiul  depression  ;  but  the  prob- 
lem tliat  we  seek  to  solve  is,  W/iat  trax  (he  maximum  (ftpression  of 
the  later  Pi  if^tocene  (it/ies,  after  the  great  beds  of  boulder  clay  were 
formed;  for  the  great  elevation  was  shortly  before  thfit  period? 

Most  <.'<'ul()i»'ists  are  readv  to  accei>t  the  hiijh  continental  elevation, 
but  there  are  dillerciices  of  opinion  respe'^ting  the  amount  of  the  sub- 
sidence. Altln)Ugh  many  have  their  own  views  uj»on  this  subject,  few 
serious  attempts  liave  been  made  to  solve  the  )»roblem  uncolored  by 
theory. 

Emoknck  op  Rkcent  Rkhionai.  Emeruknck. 

Wt  must  seek  for  the  (A'idence  of  the  recent  regional  submergence 
in  the  remains  of   old  shoi'e-li>\e>,  such    as    Oeavhe?*    terraces   and   sea- 

*Repriuted  from  Bru,.  Gkol.  Soc  Ax.,  ^    '.  '',  pp.  46*:-<:.'     tWi- 

t  "Ih"  Hi(?b  Cuntiuental  KleviUion  i>re-<i    ;  i!!3  Pleistoeen.j  Period,"  by  .j.  W.  Spencer; 
Bull.  Geol.  Hoc.  Am.,  vol.  I,  1889,  pp.  Or^ra. 


86 


El-KVATION   OF   THE    ApiRONDACICS. 


cliffH,  now  elevated  and  more  or  lesH  disturbed  and  obliteiated. 
Isolated  remnants  of  beaches  are  not  accepted  by  all  as  proof  of  a 
recent  elevation,  although  found  at  high  altitudes;  but  the  beaches 
often  contain  the  direct  proof  of  their  own  elevation. 

No  better  example  is  found  than  the  Iroquois  beach  of  the  Ontario 
basin  (shown  in  the  map  on  page  75).  This  elevated  shore-line 
is  one  of  ilie  youngest  and  best  preserved  in  the  Great  Lake  region. 
It  rests  upon  the  youngest  till  deposits.  Since  its  formation  it  has 
been  warped  toward  the  northciist,  and  thus  at  Fine,  north  of  the 
Adirondack  mountains,  it  has  l)een  lifted  over  000  feet  al)0ve  its  own 
elevation  at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario.*  By  another  series  of 
deformed  shore-linesf  it  has  been  found  that  the  Ir<)(|uois  beach,  at  the 
head  of  the  lake,  has  been  lifted  its  own  height  above  the  sea.  Hence, 
here  is  measured  proof  that  tlie  northern  side  of  the  Adirondacks  has 
been  lately  elevated  1,000  feet,  or  that  it  was  recently  1,000  feet  lower 
than  now.  The  initial  point  of  this  niovement  was  near  the  head  of 
Lake  Michigan.  Its  maximum  deformation  occurs  in  the  Adirondacks, 
and  amounts  to  seven  feet  per  mile.  Whether  this  rise  continues  to  the 
Atlantic,  oris  transformed  into  a  depression,  or  is  faulted  east  of  the 
mountains,  remains  to  be  detcrnuned.  Only  fragments  need  be  looked 
for  east  of  the  region  already  exjjlored,  for  the  deserted  shore  has 
been  traced  into  a  region  of  broken  mountains  and  wilderness. 

Three  hundred  feet  above  the  Iroquois  plain,  the  AIgon((uin  l)each 
of  the  Huron  basin  is  located.];  In  it  there  is  a  similar  deformalioii  to 
that  recorded  in  the  Iroquois  shore,  l)Ut  the  initial  point  of  the  warp- 
ing is  beyond  Lake  Michigan.  With  the  deformation  continuing 
toward  the  northeast,  it  would  appear  that  the  Laurcntian  mountains, 
north  of  the  Great  Lakes,  Avere  very  much  depressed  during  the 
Algonquin  episode.  The  evidence  of  the  formation  of  the  Algon(|uin 
beach  at  sea-level  has  already  been  set  forth  J? 

Wliile  there  is  great  deformalioTi  reconled  in  tin-  higher  beaches, 
the  surveys  of  these  more  broken  geological  records  do  not  t.'naltlt?  us 
to  trace  the  shore-lires  down  to  sea-level,  n^  in  the  case  of  the  Iroquois, 
and  to  nearly  as  ])erfect  an  extent  in  die  A'go.iquin  heacli.  Conse- 
quently, it  is  necessary  to  relj'  more  fully  ujton  the  perffctitti\  of  the 
structure  of  the  deserted  shores,  and  upon  their  positions,  which  would 

*  "Tlie  Def I )r;natioa  of  Iroquois  Bottch  and  Birth  of  Lake  Ontario,"  liy  J.  W.  Spencer;  Am. 
Jour.  8ci.,  vol.  xl,  1890,  pp.  U3-451. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  447. 

i  "  Deformation  of  the  AI^oikiuId  Beach  and  Birth  of  Lake  ITurou,'"  by  J.  W.  Spencer;  Am. 
Jour.  8ci.  vol.  xll,  1S3;,  pp.  i2-.'!. 

§  Ibid.,  p.  21. 


High  Levkl  Shore  Lines. 


87 


preclude  tlieir  formation  in  conHut'd  lakes.  Such  coiulitions  exist  in 
Ontario,  Michigan  and  Ohio,  where  extensive  surveys  have  been  made. 

The  lower  of  these  shores,  as  the  Kidgeway  beach,*  like  those  before 
named,  were  formed  about  bodies  of  water  whieli  opened  only  toward 
the  north  or  eact.  But,  ascending  a  little  higher,  the  Maumeo  beadif 
occurs  at  altitudes  which  permitted  its  formation  in  water  having  free 
communication  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississijtpi  valleys  by  two  depressions:. 
Above  this  plain  there  are  higher  gravel  terraces  an<l  plains  in  Michi- 
gan and  elsewhere,  notably  those  between  Knlamazoij  and  Marshall, 
with  an  elevation  of  a  little  more  than  900  feet  above  the  sea.  From 
them  the  country  falls  away  by  steps  toward  the  lakes;  but  the  sheet 
of  water  which  they  once  bounded  had  at  least  live  connections 
with  the  drainage  of  the  I\Iississipiii  system.  Other  higher  terraces 
about  more  insular  points  are  found  in  the  same  region,  and  farther 
north,  in  Michigan,  tliey  are  said  to  occur  on  tlu'  summit  of  the  highest 
land  east  of  Grand  Traverse  bay,  at  1,082  feet  above  tide. 

In  Ontario  there  are  well-marked  sea-cliffs,  carved  out  of  the^Jiigara 
escar)»ment,  as  westward  of  Collingwooil,  es|»ccially  at  elevations  of 
from  1,200  to  1,425  feet  above  tide.  At  various  intervals  between  the 
l>lain  of  the  AlgoiKpiin  beach  and  the  highest  land  of  the  peninsula 
(1,700  feet)  there  arc  also  terrace  and  beach  deposits  moulded  out  of 
the  drift.  These  remnants  of  shores  are  seen  to  withm  20  feet  of 
the  highest  point  of  hmd.  The  shore  markings  of  these  elevated  lands 
are  rendered  more  certain  by  the  perfect  watei--worn  stones,  and  the 
extent  of  the  beach  and  terrace  structure.  The  sea-cliffs  ate  too 
deeply  graven  to  i'ej)rest'nt  evanescent  coast  lines.  Hut  all  of  these 
records  aiv  interrupted,  owing  to  the  topngraphy  of  the  country, 
ei'osion  by  atmospheric  agencies,  and  the  recent  Pleistocene  deforma- 
tion of  the  region. 

Some  of  the  positi\>ns  of  the  surveyed  coast  lines  ai'e  shown  in  the 
map.  page  7a;  but  for  the  detailed  list  of  localities  refei'enio 
should  In'  made  to  a  paper  t)ii  "  High  level  shores  in  the  region  of  the 
C4reat  Lakes  and  their  deformation."!. 

Again  at  Dog  T^ake,  north  of  Lake  Superior,  ProVssor  IL  Y.  Hind 
obst'ived  terraces  at  1,425  feet  above  the  sea.§ 

After  allowing  for  all  the  measurable  Pleistocene  and  I'ccent  defor-- 
rwation  of  the  region,  these  elevated  shores  stand  so  high  above  every 
natural  barrier,  even  far  away  toward  the  south  as  well  as  toward  the 

*  "  Hij<h  Level  Shores  in  the  Region  of  the  Great  I^kes  and  their  Deformation,"  by  J.  W. 
Spencer,  Am.  Journ.  Sol.,  vol.  xli  ,  18bl,  p.  -iO'. 
■^  Ibid.,  p.  SOS. 
♦Loc.  cit. 
^  .Vsslaiboine  and  Saskatchewan  Expeilition,  1$59,  p.  130. 


'I 


it 


8S 


niGii  Tkkkaof.8  in  Pennsylvania. 


^li 


north,  tliat  their  occurronce  <leiii  Mils  explanation  by  other  thaii  I'.cal 
causes. 

The  liighhin<1s  of  tlie  Ontario  peninsuhi  <lo  not  form  nilonietora 
reaching  more  than  1,700  feet  abo\e  the  sea;  but  in  Potter  county,  in 
western  Pennsylvania,  100  miles  south  of  Lake  Ontario,  they  develop  a 
water-ehed,  rising  to  2,680  feet  above  tide,  with  the  Genesee  river 
(lowing  northward  to  Lake  Ontario;  the  Alleghany  to  the  Ohio  river; 
and  Pine  creek  to  tho  Snsijuehanna.  About  the  highest  liattened  Unol», 
of  only  a  lew  iiercs  ip  extent,  and  rising  to  within  20  feet  of  its  sum- 
mit, there  is  a  !ow  ri^Igt'  of  small,  well  water  worn  gravel,  nearly  t'reo 
from  sand.  Mi'.  Ca*  vil!  TiOA'is  sj)eaks  of  it  as  kame-like,  but  its  struc- 
ture and  form  are  not  different  from  that  which  may  bea  iriie  beac^h. 
This  is  emphasized  by  the  occurrence  of  a  zone  of  boulih-rs,  fonoing  a 
pavement  a  few  feet  l-jlow  the  gravel  ridge  —  a  feature  so  comt.iotdy 
developed  in  front  of  the  deserted  beiu^he-  of  the  h'ke  regi(Mi.  This 
gravel  ridge  rests  upon  the  highest  point  of,  and  at  the  very  front  of, 
the  "terminal  moraine"  of  Mr.  Lewis,  with  the  land  declining  to  the 
north,  as  well  as  falling  away  to  the  south.  Thcst-  gravels  form  a 
sup  •..  sting  upon  till  charged  with  angular  shingle  of  local 

Car  "M  ..  >.^  ■  -11"  tone,  and  it  is  out  of  this  material  that  the  pebbU-s 
were  i^.       ,. 

Th'w-re  are  similar  superficial  gravels  on  other,  l)ut  of  course,  inferior 
knob  alo'ig  th'?  foreniost  portions  of  the  "  terminal  moraine;"  but  the 
drainage  irom  these  ridges  is  toward  the  north,  and  Mr.  Lewis  emplia- 
sized  the  fact  that  there  is  no  drift  in  the  small  streams  Howing  toward 
the  south.*  The  theoretical  importance  of  this  observation  will  be 
noted  later. 

Besides  these  highest  of  all  superficial  gruvels  south  of  the  (Treat 
Lakes,  which  I  have  examined,  I  have  also  visited  the  high  terraces  of 
the  Genesee  river,  flowing  northward  from  the  deposits  just  described. 
Here  several  pauses  in  the  receding  waters  are  recorded.  These  are 
notable  from  an  elevation  of  1,900  feet  downward.  At  this  high  alti- 
tude, the  valley  is  nearly  a  mile  wide  and  now  250  feet  below  the 
terrace.  Our  knowledge  of  these  elevated  and  disconnected  water 
deposits  is  yet  very  scanty,  but  certainly  very  suggestive  when  supple- 
menting the  surveys  of  the  lower  coast  markings  in  the  lake  region. 

A  very  interesting  terrace  remains  in  a  valley  three  or  four  miles 
east  of  Ilorseheads,  New  York.  The  altitude  of  the  terrace  is  l,f,00 
feet  abovj  tide,  while  the  gravel-covered  Hoor  of  the  valley,  at  Horse- 
heads,  is  only  900  feet.     This  last  valley  is  over  a  mile  wide,  and  iv.  is 

♦"Terminal  Moraine,"  by  H.  C.  Lewis;  Qeol.  Surv.  of  Pa.,  Kept.  Z,  1884,  p  14«. 


lllOtI    TuRRAG£a. 


89 


tbat   t'oniic'ctiiig   the  trough   of  SiMieca   I;iko    with    tht-   SnHy>toli;ii\na 
valley. 

Similar  elevated  terraces  have  been  noted  l»y  I*r<>fesi.or  I.  C.  White 
along  the  ni)|)er  Potomac  valley  facing  tlie  Atlantic,  and  HJong  tlif 
adjacent  tributaries  of  the  Moiutngaliela,  which  drain  to  the  westward. 
TheHC'  deposits  he  noted  up  to  an  elovjition  of  I,»i76  feet  alntvc  the  sea, 
and  175  feel  above  the  valley,  along  a  tributary  creek  above  St.  (ieorge, 
West  Virginia.* 

At  Nachvak,  in  Tiabrador,  Dr.  Ilohert  Hell  found  beaches  of  great 
distimaness  at  1,500  feet  above  the  sea.  Uravel  and  shingle  terraces 
were  alfo  found  to  an  estimated  height  of  2,000  feet.f 

It  has  already  been  noted  that  the  ditVertntial  rise  of  the  Inxjuois 
beach,  north  of  the  Adirondack  mountains,  amounts  to  seven  feet  per 
mile,  and  that  it  has  there  l)een  lifted  to  a  thousand  feet.  If  this  rise 
continue^  to  the  Wliite  mountains,  then  the  equivalent  of  the  Iro<piois 
beach  may  be  fouiul  among  the  terraces  of  the  high  valleys  in  that 
region.  Its  records  may  be  preserved  still  further  northeistward  oti 
the  drift  covered  sides  of  Mount  Katahdin  in  Maine.  Mount  Desert, 
on  the  coast  of  Maine,  rises  to  1,500  feet, J  and  shows  remnants  of  coast 
action  to  its  summit;  consecjuently  it  is  too  low  to  bear  records  of  the 
Iroquois  shore,  unless  the  warping  of  the  earth's  crust  becoini-s  one  of 
depression  east  of  the  Adirondackp. 

In  Ontario,  some  of  the  high  shores,  referred  to  above,  occur  at  eleva- 
tions of  1,000  feet  above  the  Irocpiois  plain;  therefore,  their  equivalents 
:n  the  northern  Adirondacks  shoidd  be  looked  for  at  about  2,000  feet 
above  tide.  The  beaches  reported  in  Ver-mont  by  Professor  Hitchcock 
at;  or  below  2,300  f<;et,  doidHless  correspond  to  some  high  shore-lines  of 
t'lie  Ontario  jjoninsula.  Upon  the  same  basis  these  high  beaches  should 
ijo  looked  for  at  1^,000  feet  in  the  White  nu^iintains,  aiul  at  greater 
iilevations  on  Mount  Katahdin  in  Maine. 

If  we  ngard  the  gravels  of  the  highlands  of  Pennsylvania  as  having 
been  formed  at  sea-level,  then  it  would  be  i"easonal)le  to  look  for  their ■ 
counterparts  in  New  Hampshire,  at  elevations  of  over  4,000  feet  on 
Mount  W^^sllington  and  to  the  summit  d  the  drift  (4,400  feet)  on 
Mount  Katahdin.  These  conjectural  estimates,  based  ujton  a  possible 
uniformity,  may  aid  in  the  corelalion  of  the  topographic  features  of  the 
mountain  region  of  the  east  with  the  lake  region. 

I    •"Rounddd  UjulJoMat  High  Altitudes,"  by   [.C.White:  Am.  Jouni.  Soi.,  vol.  xxxiv,  1887, 
pp.  375-381. 

+  Kept.  Geol.  Surv.  Can.,  \86\  DD,  p.  8;  and  Bull.  Geol.  Soc.  Am.,  vol.  1,  '889,  p.  3t8. 

t" Geology  of  Mount  Desert,"  by  N.  S.  Shaler;  9th  Ann.  Kept.  U.  S.  Geol.  8urv.,  1888.  p.  903. 

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23  WEST  MAIN  STRiET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MS80 

(716)872-4503 


,  I 


90 


Marine  Dkposits  Without  Ohoanisms. 


SI    < 


Interpretations  oi-'  the  Evidence. 

So  far  as  relates  to  the  nortlieaptcrn  portion  of  the  continert,  our 
observations  on  Neptunian  phenomena  have  now  been  epitomized.  An 
exi)lanation  is  necessary.  That  the  pebbles  of  the  beaches  and  the 
shore-lines  were  the  results  of  wave  or  current  action  no  one  questions, 
but  there  are  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  conditions  under  which 
the  waters  moulded  their  coast  lines.  Were  these  deserted  shores  con- 
structed at  sea-level,  or  were  they  moulded  in  glacial  lakes?  The?o  are 
the  theoretical  questions  before  us.  ' 

The  difficulties  which  the  sea-level  theorj'  present  to  some  minds  may 
be  slated  as:  (1)  a  great  regional  depression  of  the  continent;  (2)  the 
absence  of  absolute  continuity  of  the  beaches;  (3)  the  absence  of 
marine  organisms  in  the  beaches;  and  (4)  the  personal  eipiation  of 
theoretical  views.  On  the  other  hand,  the  theory  of  glacial  dams 
presents  such  obstacles  that  their  vahie  will  be  considered  at  length. 

I'he  idea  of  the  hydrostatic  stability  of  the  continent  must  not  be 
too  stronglj'  relied  upon,  for  the  eviderce  adduced,  which  shows  that 
the  continent  lately  stood  3,000  or  temporarily  even  6,000  feet  higher 
than  now,  appears  conclusive.  Such  mobility  of  the  earth's  crust  being 
established,  there  appears  no  reason  wh}'  the  terrestrial  pendulum  could 
not  have  moved  efpially  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  carried  down  the 
highlands  of  Pennsylvania  to  nearly  3,000  feet,  or  those  of  New 
England  to  twice  this  depth.  The  objections  to  such  subsidence  could 
only  be  based  upon  its  magnitude,  which  observations  must  settle. 

The  absence  of  the  continuitj'  of  the  shore-markings  is  an  objection 
only  to  a  limited  extent.  Part  of  the  reported  absence  arises  from  the 
imperfection  in  the  explorations,  owing  to  their  changing  character;  to 
the  local  non-formation  of  beaches  as  described  in  a  previous  paper;* 
to  the  failure  of  idenlitication  of  separated  point?,  owing  to  6ubse«iuent 
terrestrial  deformation;  and  to  the  interruptions  occasioned  by  topo- 
grai)hic  features  and  subsequent  obliterations  by  erosion.  All  of  these 
difficulties  are  greatest  in  the  higher  regions,  for  there  the  beaches 
must  be  looked  for  among  islani.s  and  detached  mountain  knobs. 

The  absence  of  marine  remains  seems  perhaps  the  greatest  obstacla 
to  the  acceptance  of  a  sea-level  formition  of  the  beaches,  as  marine 
organisms  are  found  only  up  to  520  feet.f  But  the  Pleistocene  gravels 
occur  in  (Georgia  and  Alabama,  in  position  facing  the  sea,  at  altitudes 
of  700  or  800  feet,  and  higher  up  the  greater  valleys  at  1,500  feet,,} 

'Ancient  ShrrpB,  Boulder  Paveraents  and  UIgb-Level  Gravel  Deposits  in  the  Region  of  the 
Great  Lakes,  by  J.  W.  Spencer;  Bull.  Geol.  Soc.  Am.,  vol.  J,  1839,  p.  77. 
t  At  Montreal, 
t  On  tlie  vjiper  Etowah  river  of  Georgia. 


1  f 


Glacial  Dams. 


91 


our 


without  containing  any  marine  remains.  Even  where  marine  Pleisto- 
oeiio  beaches  occur  on  the  coast  of  Norway  there  are  very  few  localities 
where  shells  are  found.  How  many  of  the  older  geological  formations 
are  unfossiliferous?  IIow  many  of  those  ancient  beach  deposits,  now 
represented  by  conglomerates,  porous  sandstones,  and  indeed  many 
clays,  are  entirely  barren  ?  Under  such  conditions  have  we  a  right  to 
pronounce  judgment  on  the  freshness  of  waters  based  on  the  absence  of 
aqueous  organic  remains?  This  question  will  be  referred  to  again  in 
considering  the  glacial  dam  theory. 

As  to  the  pcrBonal  equation,  it  ought  not  to  pass  beyond  the  limit 
of  conservatism,  but  it  is  quite  proper  that  it  sliould  be  considered;  for, 
as  Professor  Geikie  has  said,  '•  when  controversy  ceases  the  interest  in 
the  investigation  declines." 

Glacial  Dams  Considered. 

Glacial  lakes  are  of  two  kinds  :  those  whose  waters  are  retained  by 
morainic  barriers  ;  and  others  sustained  by  ice  barriers  alone. 

The  former  class  is  represented  in  several  valleys  in  the  Alps,  where 
lateral  glaciers  enter  and  cross  greater  valleys  ;  sometimes  the  glacier 
carries  its  lateral  moraine  across  the  valley  and  builds  a  more  or  less 
permanent  earth  dam.  Such  lakes  remain  long  after  tlu;  glacier  has 
melted  away,  and  even  when  drained  show  evidence  of  their  origin, 
A  consideration  of  this  class  of  glacial  lakes  does  not  enter  into  the 
subject  of  this  paper. 

In  Switzerland,  Greenland  and  Alaska  other  glacial  dams  are  now 
well  known.  These  are  retained  b}'^  the  ice  alone.  When  glaciers, 
free  from  morainic  materials,  descend  lateral  valleys  and  across  otlier 
valleys,  they  do  not  obstruct  the  rivers,  for  they  continue  to  ilow 
beneath  the  ice.  However,  there  .are  many  places  where  glacial  lakes 
occur  between  the  ice  and  the  sides  of  the  valleys;  esjtecially  is  this 
the  case  where  two  glaciers  meet  at  the  end  of  a  mountain  spur,  like 
Lac  Tacul  in  Switzerhiid.  Small  glacial  lakes,  like  the  ^[arjelen-see, 
sometimes  occur  where  lateral  valleys  unite  with  the  glacier-tilled 
channels.  All  modern  glacial  lakes  are  of  small  feize.  One  of  the 
largest  lakes  described  in  Greenland  is  not  over  three  or  four  miles 
long  and  a  mile  wide.  Such  lakes,  when  they  exist  above  sea  level,  an^ 
evanscent.  Mr.  II.  Topham  described  some  glacial  lakes  of  Alaska 
which  discharge  by  a  tunnel,  eight  miles  long,  under  500  feet  of  ice. 
Mr,  I.  C.  Russell  makes  similar  reports.  The  outflowing  waters 
enlarge  the  tunnels,  thereby  draining  the  lakes;  but  the  ice  roofs  fall 
in,  and  by  the  accumulation  of  ice  blocks  the  tunnel  becomes  temporarily 


I  i    I 


1  ? 


92 


Physical  Objection  to  Glaciai-  Dams. 


obstructed,  causing  the  water  of  tbe  lakes  to  rise.  lu  the  very  nature 
of  the  case,  large  lakes  could  not  be  expected,  for  the  conditions  which 
would  permit  their  formation  would  <!ause  the  glaciers  to  recede. 
E8j)ecially  would  this  be  the  case  if  the  glaciers  were  hundreds  of  feet 
above  the  sea,  with  river.s  draining  beneath  or  through  them.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  conceive  how  any  water-level  could  be  maintained 
long  enough  to  permit  the  waves  to  carve  out  terraces  and  sea-cliffs. 
With  glaciers  coming  down  intc  the  sea,  it  is  easy  to  understand  how 
bays  and  inlets  could  be  obstructed  by  the  ice  so  as  to  allow  the  water 
to  be  freshened.  In  such  lakes  the  water-level  could  be  maintained 
long  enough  to  leave  inscriptions  in  the  form  of  terraces  and  beaches. 

Such  is  a  brief  account  of  the  natural  history  of  glacial  dams.  It 
has  been  said  that  the  easiest  explanation  of  the  theor}'  of  our  Great 
Lakes  is  by  regarding  them  as  formerly  great  glacial  dams:  so  it  was 
thought  10  years  ago  that  the  least  troublesome  hypothesis  of  the 
origin  of  the  C4reat  Lake  basins  was  by  their  excavation  by  glaciers  ; 
but  the  writer,  going  into  a  field  of  invesigation  almost  scaled  by  pre- 
judgTnent,  has  shown  that  glaciers  did  not  scoop  out  the  basins,  and 
has  otherwise  found  satisfactory  explanation  of  their  origin*  without 
invoking  the  necessity  of  ice  being  converted  into  rock  diggers.  So, 
also,  the  evidence  of  glacial  dams  has  not  been  found,  so  far  as 
investigations  have  extended. 

Let  us  examine  how  the  glacial-danj  theory  applies  to  the  shore- 
lines already  described. 

The  physical  features  of  the  (>ntarif>  basin  are  the  most  favorable  for 
the  constructions  of  a  great  lake  retained  by  glacial  dams  As  proved 
by  its  deformation,  the  Irocjuois  beach  was  formed  at  sea-level.  If 
this  proof  of  the  altitude  of  its  birthplace  did  not  exist,  the  evidence 
of  its  elevation  would  be  obtained  from  a  consideration  of  the  ability 
of  glaciers  to  close  the  St.  Lawrence  valley  to  the  northeast.  Such  a 
barrier  would  have  been  from  GO  to  100  miles  wide,  and  fnmi  800  to 
],30o  feet  dcej)  (l>elow  surface  of  water),  according  to  location.  Yet 
the  drainage  of  the  then  expanded  lake,  over  ;{00  miles  long  (so  far  as 
serveycd)  and  100  miles  or  more  in  width,  was  against,  into,  or  under 
the  supposed  glaciers,  except  to  a  limited  extent  in  its  earliest  stages, 
when  a  partial  overflow  was  by  the  Mohawk  valley.  Had  the  lake 
been  above  sea-level,  a  river  as  large  as  the  St.  Lawrence  would  soon 
have  eaten  its  way  through  the  ice  and  lowered  the  lake,  for  in  that 
dirtction  alone  it  had  to  liow;  conse(pienlly,  it  appears  that  the  great 

•"Origin  of  the  Baslna  of  tlieOreat  Laltes  of  America,"  by  .J.  W.Spencer;  Quart.  Journ. 
Geol.  Soc,  vol.  xivi,  IStfO,  p.  52.S. 


mture 
which 
ucede. 
f  feet 
n.  It 
tained 
i-cliffs. 
d  how 

water 
jtained 
caches, 
ixs.  It 
■  Great 

it  was 
of  the 
laciers  ; 
by  pre- 
ins,  and 
without 
rn.  So, 
far  as 

?   shore - 

ahle  for 
!(  proved 
vol.     If 
evidence 
ability 
Such  a 
II  800  to 
on.     Yet 
so  far  as 
or  under 
St  stages, 
I  the  lake 
nild  soon 
|)r  in  that 
the  great 
Juart.  Journ. 


DlRKCTlON   OF    DbAISAGE. 


08 


cut  terraces  and  beaches,  recjuirini;  centuries   or   nullenniums   of  time, 
could  scarcely  have  been  formed  except  at  sealevel. 

If  the  Algonquin  beach  of  tbo  up|)er  lakes  were  formed  in  a  glacial 
lake,  then  the  ice  barrier  in  the  region  of  Lake  Nipissing  would  have 
reached  600  or  Too  feet  beneath  llie  surface  of  the  water.  The  drainage 
must  have  been  under  the  ice,  and  have  amounted  to  a  discharge  equal 
to  that  of  the  modern  Detroit  river,  as  the  discharge  of  Lake  Sujierior, 
Lake  Michigan  and  Lake  Huron  basins  would  have  been  thus  borne 
seaward,  descending  oOi>  feet  to  the  level  of  the  Iroquois  water. 
Under  such  conditions,  th^  question  may  be  asked,  IIow  (^ould  the 
lake  surface  be  retained  long  enough  at  anj'  level  to  carve  out  the 
deeply  graven  water  lines  and  terrace  plains  of  the  Algonquin  beach, 
in  place  of  the  discharging  waters  melting  aM'ay  the  icy  barriers,  which 
were  supposed  to  have  been  the  means  of  retaining  the  lake  300  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  Iroquois  waters? 

We  now  rise  to  the  shores  which  bounded  the  Warren 
water.  These  I  have  exph»red  from  Lake  Michigan  to  New 
York,  and  to  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Ontario  peninsula.  Under 
the  glacial-dam  theory,  this  sheet  of  water  would  need  a  barrier 
to  the  north  as  well  as  to  the  east.  The  drainage  of  the  lake,  at 
all  stages,  from  the  Ridgewaj'^  beach  (hownward,  was  to  the  northeast, 
and  beneath  a  greater  hypothetical  mass  of  ice  than  in  the  case  of  the 
Algonquin  or  Iroquois  waters;  but  above  the  Ridgeway  beach,*  at  the 
Maumee  level, f  there  were  outlets  across  Ohio  and  Illinois,  if  a  lake  it 
were.     The  dithculties  are  increasing. 

The  shore  markings  occun  iiig  at  Kalamazoo,  at  about  000  feet  abov^ 
tide,  represent  a  sheet  of  water  having  at  least  five  outlets  across  Ohio 
and  Illinois.  Again,  the  sea-clilfs  of  the  Ontario  ]>eninsula,  at  fron> 
1,200  to  1,425  feet  an<l  more,  and  the  beaches  now  found  up  to  1,689 
feet,  would  demand  great  dams  toward  the  south  and  west  as  well  as 
toward  the  north.  But  such  dams  could  scarcely  have  existed  with 
open  waters  carving  out  sea-cliffs  and  terraces  on  the  high  penirisulaof 
Ontario,  and  also  leaving  records  2f  0  miles  southward.  It  should  be 
noted  that  gravel  deposits  of  the  so-called  kame  and  osar  structures 
occur  at  all  high  levels;  but  of  these  I  do  not  take  cognizance. 

The  drainage  of  the  high  countr}'-,  such  as  the  Genesee  valley,  with 
terraces  up  to  1,900  feet  or  more,  and  of  the  "terminal  moraine,"  up 
to  2, 680. feet,  was  toward  the  north  without  obstruction. 

*  "  High  Level  Sbores.lD  the  Region  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  their  Deformation,"  by  J.  W. 
Spencer :  Am.  Jouru.  Set,  vol.  zll,  1831,  p.  207. 
+  IbkL,  p.  808. 


1'  fl 


in 


'I 

i 

■i 


94 


OiiJEOTioNs  TO  Glacial  Dams. 


Ascending  now  to  Potter  county,  we  find  the  gravel  ridge  at  2,660 
feet,  on  the  very  edge  of  the  highest  knob  of  the  "terminal  moraine." 
This  higli  ]»oint  could  not  have  stood  out  of  the  ice  as  a  Greenland 
*'  nunatak,"  with  a  lake  around  it,  for  it  is  at  tlso  margin  of  the  drift, 
and  glaciers  do  not  deposit  their  terminal  detritus  within  the  ice,  but 
at  their  very  niargins.  It  seems  imjtossi  lo  to  conceive  a  glacial  mass 
retaining  a  lake  about  this  Hattened.knob,  even  if  the  country  were 
submerged  to  almost  sealevel.  There  are  other  similar  deposits  on 
adjacent  summits.  Again,  had  a  gia  ier  existed  on  the  top  ov  on  the 
southern  side  ot  this  "  morainic "  ridge,  wliich  is  a  water-shed,  its 
melting  ice  must  have  carried  great  quantities  of  drift  into  the  valleys 
toward  the  south,  which  neither  Mr.  Lewis  nor  I  have  seen.  15ut  the 
drainage  was  toward  the  north,  into  tlie  hypothetical  glacier,  which,  if 
it  permitted  sub-glacial  drainage,  could  scarcely  have  formed  lakes. 


in 


Conclusions. 

Under  these  conditions,  fairly  slated  I  think,  whether  is  it  easier  to 
accept  a  great  subsidence  of  the  continent,  to  nearly  2,700  feet  in 
western  Pennsylvania,  or  account  for  the  phenomena  by  glacial  dams 
formed  on  land  vastly  lower  toward  the  north  ?  Indeed,  the  great 
deformation  of  the  lake  regions  had  scarcely  begun,  and,  consequently, 
even  the  modern  higli'lands  north  of  the  Great  Lakes  were  then  very 
much  lower  than  now,  when  compared  with  the  region  to  the  south.  I 
cannot  hesitate  forming  a  conclusion  that  the  evidence  is  in  favor  of 
a  late  continental  subsidence  rather  than  in  favor  of  glacial  lakes 
hundreds  of  miles  long  and  broad,  like  nothing  ever  seen,  and  which 
could  not  answer  the  requirements. 

The  difficulty  in  accei)ting  the  subsidence  without  the  occurrence  of 
marine  shells  has  in  part  been  pointed  out.  But  their  absence  in  the 
lower  beaches  may  be  accounted  for,  in  part,  by  the  sheets  of  water 
being  more  or  less  cut  off  from  the  sea  and  receiving  great  quanties  of 
fresh  water.  This,  however,  will  not  explain  their  absence  on  the 
higher  beaches.  The  varying  climatic  conditions  of  the  water  and 
the  changes  of  level  destroying  the  life,  too  rapid  to  allow  of  remigra- 
tion,  may  in  part  account  for  the  absence  of  organisms  in  the  seashore 
lines. 

The  record  of  subsidence  deciphered  hi  the  high-shore  lines  of  the 
lake  region  is  supported  by  the  observations  of  Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson,  Mr. 
R.  G.  McConnell  and  others,  on  the  monuments  rising  above  the  great 
plains  of  northwestern  Canada,  and  on  the  mountains  between  there 


KOOKV    Mol  NTAIN    TiSRRAOBS. 


95 


i  2,060 
raine." 
enland 
2  drift, 
!e,  but 
i\  mass 
y  were 
)8it8  on 

on  tl)0 
lied,  its 

valleys 
But  the 
hicli,  if 
kes. 


asier  to 
feet  in 
ial  dams 
lie  great 
squently, 
hen  very 
louth.  I 
favor  of 
ial  lakes 
nd  which 

rrence  of 
;e  in  the 
of  water 
Lianties  of 
le  on  the 
prater  and 
I  remigra- 
3  seashore 

nes  of  the 
,w8on,  Mr. 
I  the  great 
reen  there 


and  the  Pacific  coast.  Dr.  Dawson*  finds  gravel  terraces  upon  the 
high  sides  of  the  Rocky  IVIouiitains,  facing  the  east,  in  position  show- 
ing the  origin  not  to  have  been  river  terraces. 

From  extensive  observations  Dr.  Dawson  concludes  that  the  Pleisto- 
cene subniorg.uicos  amounted  to  4,000  or  fi,00(.)  feet  in  the  region  of 
the  international  boundary  (the  49tli  parallel),  while  in  Alaska  it  did 
not  exceed  2,5('0  or  3,000  feet.  He  also  jiostulates  two  episodes  of  sub- 
mergence, the  latter  being  loss  extensive  than  the  former.  Further, 
he  regards  the  elevation  and  subsidence  of  the  great  plains  and  western 
mountains  as  alternating,  and  that  the  drift  material  of  the  plaitis  was 
deposited  at  sea-level. 

Mr.  R.  G.  McConnell  informs  us  that  on  Cypress  hills,  with  an  alti- 
tude of  4,800  feet,  the  drift  does  not  rise  above  4,400  feet.  One 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  northwestward,  the  drift  is  not  found  above 
3,400  feet  on  Hand  hills  (Tyrrell);  but  south  of  Cypress  hills,  near  the 
49th  parallel,  the  drift  occurs  u))  to  4,000  feet  on  Biittes  (Dawson). 
From  these  observations  Mr.  McConnell  shows  a  differential  level  of 
7.2  feet  i>er  mile,  the  elevation  being  greater  nearer  the  49th  parallel. 

In  the  east,  the  history  of  the  changes  has  not  been  fully  deciphered. 
Erratics  occur  on  top  of  Mount  Washington  lo  6,300  feet, while  on  Mount 
Katahdin,  in  Maine,  they  occur  only  to  4,400  feet  (Upham).  Conforming 
with  Dr.  Dawson's  views,  as  applied  to  the  west,  we  have  a  greater  lise  in 
the  White  mountains  than  eastward.  The  altitude  of  beach  formation  on 
the  highlands  of  Labrador  (1,500  to  2,000  feet),  shows  the  recent 
northern  uplift  to  have  been  less  than  in  New  England. 

Combining  the  movement  of  the  east  and  the  west,  it  would  appear 
that  the  great  Pleistocene  uplift  reached  its  maximum  along  a  line 
between  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  Vancouver  island,  rather  than 
in  higher  latitudes.  The  youthfulness  of  the  northern  topographical 
features  shows  that  the  elevation  of  the  lands  in  the  higher  latitudes, 
above  the  base-plane  of  river  erosini,  has  taken  place  in  recent  geolog- 
ical times,  for  there  is  a  lack  of  such  great  canons  in  the  country  north 
of  the  great  lake  zone  a?  occur  in  the  region  to  the  south  of  it. 

If  the  subsidence  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  continent  appears 
to  have  been  great,  that  of  Barbadoes,  toward  the  southeast,  appears 
to  have  been  greater;  for  Messrs.  J.  B.  Harrington  and  A.  J.  Jukes- 
Brownef  have  pointed  out  that  there  are  on  the  island  oceanic  deposits 


*  "  Lkter  Phystograpbical  0«ology  of  Rocky  Mountain  Region  in  Canada,  witb  Special 
Reference  to  Changes  in  Elevation,  and  the  History  of  the  Qiacial  Period  ;  "  Trans.  Roy.  See. 
Can.,  vol.  vili,  sec.  iv,  1830,  pp.  8-74,  pis.  1-1(1. 

tOeology  of  Barbadoes,  1890. 


so 


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restinj?  u))on  beds  of  samlstone  and  sbales  of  probably  Miocene  age, 
and  beneatb  coral  formations  of  age  not  greater  tban  tbe  Pleistocene. 
These  deposits  indicate  an  origin  of  not  less  tban  a  thoiHand  fatboms, 
and,  as  yiv.  Jukes- Browne  points  out,  probably  of  vastly  greater 
depth.  This  gcsologically  recent  subsidence  was  not  likely  synchronous 
M'itb  that  to  tbe  nortb,  but  may  bave  been  one  of  those  alternating 
conditions  suggested  by  Dr.  Dawson. 

The  fjords  of  tbe  coast  of  Norway  sbo'v  tbat  tbe  Scandinavian 
jteninsuia  lately  stood  4,000  feet  higher  tban  now.  Thesilt  and  terrace 
deposits  at  3,000  feet*  point  to  a  subsidence  of  tbat  region  the  same  as 
("iniiiar  deposits  in  the  mountains  of  America. 

The  deep  submerged  channels  south  of  Asia,  like  that  of  the  Ganges, 
which  is  r.,,570  feet  deep,  proves  a  recent  submergence  of  tbat  amount, 
lint  such  deep  channels  are  not  known  north  of  Asia  ;  consecpiently  tbe 
higher  latitudes  do  not  show  a  great  amount  of  late  depression.  The 
Pliocene  depof^its  in  Sicily,  at  3,000  feet,  demonstrates  a  recent 
elevation. 

Pliocene  deposits  in  tbe  southeast  of  England  are  now  found  at  600 
feet  above  tide.  Their  counterparts  at  Utrecht  have  been  shown  by 
Mr.  Clement  Reid  to  be  now  submerged  more  than  1,143  feet  f 

Tbe  oft-quotcu  Moel  Tryfean  deposits,  in  northwestern  Wales,  show 
marine  shells  at  1,400  feet,  with  similar  but  unfossiliferous  beds  rising 
to  nearly  2,000  feet.  These  deposits,  wlr.ch  I  have  visited,  I  consider 
to  have  been  formed  where  found;  but  they  do  not  represent  so  late  a 
subsidence  as  our  deposits  in  tbe  lake  region,  for  they  are  not  the 
superficial  gravel,  but  are  covered  by  a  few  feet  of  more  recent  till. 

'J'hese  few  foreign  examples  just  cited  show  that  the  continental 
movements,  as  set  forth  in  this  paper,  are  not  peculiar  to  America;  but 
they  were  not  probably  synchronous,  although  they  have  taken  place 
in  the  most  recent  geological  times. 

This  paper  must,  of  necessity,  be  imjierfect,  as  it  is  the  tir-tt  attempt 
to  work  out  the  detailed  evidence  of  the  recent  terrestrial  subsidence 
from  records  in  ancient  shore-lines  of  tlie  Great  Lake  region,  many  of 
which  have  only  recently  been  reported  by  tbe  writer.  All  of  the 
phenomena  cited  show  that  in  recent  geological  times  there  have  been 
gigantic  movements  causing  the  earth's  crust  to  heave  to  and  fro,  pro- 
ducing conditions  which  l»ave  greatly  modified  the  jtbysical  features, 
climatic  conditions,  and  distribution  of  life. 


""'High  Level  Terraces  of  Norway,"  J.  R.  Dakjns :  Geol,  Mag  ,  sec.  ii,  vol.  iv,  1877,  p.  73. 
tBrlt.  Admir.  Chart,  No.  70. 


Chamnels  Over  Divides. 


9T 


Appendix. —  Channels  over   Divides   xor    Evioence    per   se    op 

Glacial  Lakes.* 

The  locality  of  this  paper  was  visited  in  company  with  Mr.  G.  K. 
Gilbert,  and  the  descriptions  given  are  only  sutticieut  to  allow  a  state- 
ment of  my  views,  as  I  consider  it  a  very  important  region. 

The  valley  of  Black  river,  New  York,  extends  nearly  40  nwles  above 
Carthage,  forming  an  embayment  on  the  northern  flanks  of  the  Adiron- 
dack massif.  Boonville  is  on  the  divide  between  the  head  of  this  val- 
ley and  an  eastern  branch  of  the  Mohawk  river.  The  limestone  floor 
of  the  divide  is  1,141  feet  above  the  sea.  From  it  the  v.alley  rapidly 
widens,  and  at  a  i)oint  ten  miles  to  the  south  it  is  two  miles  in  width. 
At  a  short  distance  farther  southward,  the  hills  rapidly  fell  away,  leav- 
ing a  comparatively  low  country.  A  few  miles  westward,  the  jtarallel 
Iroquois  beach  records  difTereutial  elevation  of  the  land  amounting  to 
four  feet  or  more  per  mile.  In  the  great  valley  of  the  Black  river, 
conspicuous  terraces  occur  north  of  Boonville  at  1,190,  1,170  and  1,130 
feet.  The  terraces  continue  on  the  southern  side  of  the  divide,  and  at 
a  point  ten  miles  distant  were  noted  at  1,095,  970,  940,  888  and  830 
feet,  with  the  floor  of  the  valley  770  f»et  abovf  'de.  With  thf 
dilferential  warping  considered,  the  identity  of  the  upper  terraces  is 
unquestionable.  The  summit  of  the  divide  is  not  covered  with  a  gravel 
deposit;  but  a  short  distance  southward  gravel  deposits  were  seen, 
though  their  altitude  was  not  measured. 

Let  us  now  ask.  What  barrier  retained  the  volume  of  water  325  feet 
above  its  floor  in  a  valley  one  to  two  miles  wide,  with  the  opening 
country  descending  in  the  next  ten  miles  another  325  feet?  Here  we 
have  the  action  of  the  water  in  a  great  open  embayment  leaving 
records  at  an  elevation  of  050  feet  Avithout  any  barrier  on  the  south, 
unless  these  waters  were  retained  against  the  now  high  level  banks, 
owing  to  a  submergence  of  the  region  down  to  sea-level,  as  it  can 
scarcely  be  supposed  that  a  glacial  dam  could  have  occurred  upon  the 
southern  side  of  the  lake.  The  absence  of  the  terrace  deposits  on  tlie 
divide  is  easily  explained  by  the  action  of  tidal  currents  and  need  not 
be  considered  the  proof  of  a  glacial  river  flowing  over  the  watershed 
into  a  great  embayment  whicli  could  not  have  retained  the  volume  of 
water  pjissing  over  the  divide  at  hundreds  of  feet  above  the  bottom  of 
the  valley  without  an  obstruction  or  submergence  to  the  south.  The 
lower  terraces  are  confined  to  the  valleys  and  are  not  specially  con- 

.*Reprinted  from  Bull,  deol  Soc  ,  Am.  vol.  23,  p.  491-2,  1831 . 

13 


98 


Channels  Over  Dividks. 


Hidered.  Here,  then,  we  find  a  col  connected  with  terraces  on  the 
northern'side,  such  as  are  often  quoted  as  proof  of  glacial  dams,  but 
the  terraces  on  the  southern  side  disprove  the  etTioiency  of  ice  dams  to 
account  for  this  class  of  high  level  terraces. 

Since  the  above  was  written  the  author  has  observed  many  other 
similar  data,  all  showing  the  fallacy  of  constructing  glacial  dams  upon 
the  evidence  of  general  flows  over  divides  leading  southward.  Indeed, 
he  has  seen  the  same  phenomena  within  the  tropics  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Tehuantepec,  where  no  glacial  dams  could  have  been  situated. 


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CHAPTER    IX. 


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Art.  LXIII.— The  History  and  Duration  of  Niagara 

Falls* 

Conjectures  as  to  the  Age  of  the  Falls. 

About  the  year  1760,  Sir  William  Johnson  took  possession  of 
Nia^^ra  Fallii,  and  from  that  time  its  recession  impressed  itself  upon 
the  few  observers,  so  that  when  Andrew  Ellicott  made  the 
first  survey  of  the  chasm,  shortly  before  1790,  he  was  informed  that  the 
cataract  had  receded  twenty  feet  in  thirty  years;  whereupon  he 
concluded  that  its  age  was  66,440  years.**  Bakewell's  estimate,  in  1830, 
reduced  its  duration  to  about  12,000  years.f  According  to  Lyell,  in 
1 841,1  the  Falls  was  about  36,000  years  old,  and  this  conjecture  was  gener- 
ally accepted  until  a  few  years  ago.  The  first  steps  taken  towards  the 
determination  of  the  age  of  the  falls  were  those  to  ascertain  the  rate  of 
actual  recession.  In  1842,  Prof.  James  Hall  triangulated  the  cataract§; 
in  1876,1  the  Lake  Survey;  in  1886,^  Prof.  R.  S.  Woodward  ;  and  ia 
1890,§§  Mr.  Aug.  S.  Kibbe  repeated  the  measurements  In  1819,tt 
the  International  Commission  surveyed  the  river,  and  showed  that  the 
apex  of  the  cataract  was  very  acute,  yet  it  dots  not  appear  that  the 
measurements  could  be  compared  with  the  later  surveys  made  for  the 
determination  of  the  rate  of  recession.  The  four  surveys  naturally 
give  data  for  superseding  the  earlier  estimates,  and  if  the  mean  rate  of 
retreat  of  the  Falls  during  48  years  be  taken,  its  age  would  appear  to 
be  9,000  years.  The  conjectures  of  the  older  geologists  have  been  set 
aside  by  recent  writers  who  have  endeavored  to  reduce  the  age  to  7,000 
years  by  using  the  maximum  rate  of  measured  recession.  Substituting 
a  measured  rate  of  retreat  for  one  purely  assumed  was  a  step  in  the 
riwht  direction,  but  without  knowing  it,  the  later  writers  were  farther 

*  Reported  from  the  Am.  Jour.  Sci.,  Tal.  zlriil,  pp  VO-XTi,  1391. 

**  "Journal  of  William  Maclay,"  Appletooa,  1890. 

t  Cited  In  "  Travel!  in  North  America  in  1841,"  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  toI.  i,  p  87. 

;  The  same. 

$  '•  Natural  HIatory  of  New  York,"  Part  IV.  vol.  iv.,  p  184. 

I  Lalce  Survey  Chart. 

'Report  of  the  meeting  of  the  Am.  As.  Ad.  Sc.  !a  Science,  Sept,,  1886. 

%i  7th  Rept.  Com.  State  Res.  Niag.,  1891. 

ft  Printed  by  the  U.  S.  Lighthouse  Board. 


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astray  than  the  earlier,  for  they  neglected  to  take  into  account 
the  changing  episodes  of  the  river,  which  was  not  known  to  the  earliest 
observers.  Only  one  other  geologist  besides  myself  has  called  atten- 
tion to  the  varying  forces  which  have  made  the  Niagara  canon,—  and 
this  is  Mr.  G.  K.  Gilbert,*  by  whom  and  the  writer  the  principal 
phenomena  affecting  the  history  of  the  river  have  been  discovered. 
The  last  question  which  had  to  be  determined  before  a  computation  of 
the  age  of  the  falls  could  be  undertaken  was  the  approximate  amount 
of  work  accomplished  by  the  river  during  each  of  the  episodes  in  its 
history.    This  I  was  able  to  estimate  last  fall. 

Physical  Features  of  the  Niagara  District. 

For  distance  of  19  miles  from  Lake  Erie  (573  feet  above  tide),  the 
Niagara  peninsula  is  a  plain,  with  slight  undulations,  rising  from  15  to 
30  or  40  feet  above  the  lake.  But  three  features  are  notable  :  (a) 
a  drift  ridge  trending  westward  from  the  falls  and  surmounted  by  a 
each  (L,  fig.  24)  rising  to  114  feet  above  the  lake,  with  a  knob  30  feetb 
higher,  at  Druramondville  ;  {b)  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Erie,  the  river 
cuts  through  an  escarpment  of  Devonian  limestone,  which  there  rises  to 
about  30  feet ;  and  (c)  at  a  point  about  a  mile  north  of  the  site  of  the 
falls  there  is  another  limestone  ridge  here  named  William  John- 
son's ridge  in  honor  of  the  first  settler  (e,  e,  fig.  1?)  with  an  elevation  of 
40  or  50  feet.  Between  these  two  rocky  ridges  is  the  Tonawanda 
basin.  From  the  northern  margin  of  the  plain,  the  escarpment  suddenly 
descends  about  210  feet  to  a  lower  plain  which  extends  eight 
miles  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario  (247  feet  above  the  sea).  Upon 
leaving  Lake  Erie  the  river  channel  is  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide 
but  reaches  a  depth  of  48  feet.  After  passing  the  Devonian  escarp- 
ment, the  river  is  broad,  even  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  fall,  with 
a  depth  of  from  1  to  16  feet.  The  canon  is  about  36,000  feet 
long  and  varies  from  900  to  1,400  feet  in  width  (see  fig.  17  and  sections). 
After  the  river  issues  from  the  gorge  its  width  is  about  a  half  a  mile, 
and  the  depth  reaches  to  96  feet,  or  94  feet  below  the  surface  of  Lake 
Ontario.  In  the  canon,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  below  the  site  of  the 
falls,  the  river  has  a  depth  of  189  feet,  at  a  point  where  the  surface  is 
about  105  feet  above  the  lower  lake.  That  the  upper  part  of  the  canon 
are  vertical  should  be  emphasized. 

*  Mr.  Qilbert  writes  thus :  "  You  are  aware  that  I  am  everywhere  quoted  as  estimating  the 
age  of  the  river  (Niagara)  as  about  the  7,000  years.  It  was  partly  to  dispel  this  impression  that 
I  wrote.  *  *  *  In  point  of  fact  I  have  made  no  estimate  and  my  opinion,  so  far  as  I  have  one,  Is 
that  the  age  of  the  river  is  much  greater  than  7,000  years." 


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Geology  of  the  District. 

The  geology  of  the  district  is  too  well  known  to  need  description, 
but  the  measurements  had  not  been  made  which  could  be  used  in 
determining  the  varying  character  of  the  work  performed  by  the  river; 
accordingly  I  made  the  following  sections  and  those  illustrated  in 
figures  19,  22,  23,  24,  25,  26,  27. 

The  plain  between  the  escarpment  and  Lake  Ontario  is  underlaid  by 
a  great  thickness  of  Medina  shales,  thinly  covered  with  drift  and 
lacustrine  deposits.  The  flit  country,  between  the  head  of  the  rapids 
above  the  falls  of  the  Devonian  escarpment  near  Lake  Erie  is  under- 
laid by  shaly  rocks  of  Onondaga  age.  The  southward  dip  of  the  strata 
from  the  end  of  the  gorge  to  the  Devil's  hole  (9,700  feet  distant,  at  the 
mouth  of  Bloody  run)  is  40  feet;  thence  the  whirlpool  (8,500  feet)  26 
feet;  and  from  there  to  the  falls  (15,000  "feet  in  a  direct  line)  only  10 
feet,  or  almost  horizontal. 


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102        Geological  Siotions  Along  the  Niagara  Gorge. 


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A7ici€nt  Topography  and,  Basement. 

In  the  numerous  writings  upon  the  Niagara  river  one  ancient'topo- 
graphlc  feature  has  been  overlooked  and  another  exaggerated|into 
importance  which  it  does  not  possess.     The  ancient  drainage  of_^the 


II 


104 


Ancient  Tonawanda.  Valley. 


Erie  basin  was  not  by  w.ay  of  the  Niagara,^  but  by  a  channel  40  miles 
to  the  west,*  Even  at  the  end  of  the  Lake  Erie  the  borings  show  old 
channels  deeper  than  the  floor  of  the  river  across  the  Devonian  escarj)- 
ments.f  The  feature  overlooked  is  the  Tonawanda  valley,  a  mile  and 
a  half  in  width,  extending  from  the  rapids  above  the  falls  to  the 
Johnson  ridge.  Its  basement  is  80  or  90  feet  below  the  northern  bar- 
rier of  Johnson's  ridge .  The  rocky  sub- surface  of  Goat  Island  was 
part  of  the  ancient  floor  (see  fig,  27).  This  depression  is  part  of  the 
ancient  Tonawanda  basin,  which  is  now  filled  with  drift  (see  fig.  24). 
The  gorge  through  Johnson's  ridge  is  modern  with  vertical  walls,  but 
half  a  mile  to  the  west  it  falls  away  and  the  wells  reveal  the  continua- 
tion of  the  Tonawanda  depression  extending  northward.  It  is  again 
made  known  by  a  well  half  a  mile  west  of  the  whirlpool  (w,  fig.  19), 
in  the  line  of  the  extension  of  the  St.  David's  valley.  This  forms  an 
embayment  one  and  half  miles  wide  and  only  three-tiuarters  of  a  mile 
deep  in  the  face  of  the  Niagara  escarpment.  The  modern  river  is 
simply  crossing  a  portion  of  the  old  Tonawanda  basin  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  falls,  and  consequently  it  has  here  much  le^s  rock  to  excavate 
than  through  and  north  of  Johnson's  ridge. 

The  other  feature  is  the  imaginary  whirlpool  —St,  David's  valley, 
supposed  to  have  been  the  old  course  of  the  river.     Above  and  below 


Fio.  18.— Map  of  the  whirlpool ;  bb,  position  of  section  (in  fig  17). 


the  whirlpool  alike,  the  gorge  is  of  recent  date  as  may  be  seen  by  the 
vertical  walls  shown  in  the  several  sections.  The  whirlpool  ravi  e  has 
sloping  V-shaped  boundaries  in  its  higher  portion,  which  is  an  antique 
structure.  The  depression  is  so  obstructed  with  drift,  that  gives  rise 
to  landslides  that  the  old  topography  is  much  obscurtd.  Yet  a  little 
stream  has  removed  the  fallen  earth  and  exposed  a  natural  section  of 

*  "Origin  of  the  Basins  of  the  Great  Lakes,"  Q.  J.  O.  9.  Lond.,  toL  zlvi,  p.  523, 1690,  and 
*'  Notes  on  the  Origin  and  History  of  the  Qreat  Lakes,"  Proc.  A.  A.  A.  S.,  vol.  zzviil,  1688. 
t  "The  Life  History  of  Niagara,"  by  Jallus  Pohlman,  Trans.  Am.  Inst.  Min.  Eng. 


TONAWANDA  —  St.   DavId's  VaLLKY. 


105 


Clinton  limestones,  which  cross  the  valley  at  an  elevation  of  116  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  whirlpool,  or  160  feet  above  Lake  Ontario, 
with  Niagara  shales  showing  for  at  least  20  feet  higher.  Thus  the 
rocky  barrier  across  the  ravine  is  not  less  than  240  feet  above  the  bot- 
tom of  the  canon  in  the  whirlpool.  This  barrier  in  the  ravine  is  illus- 
trated in  fig.  19,  which  should  be  compared  with  figures  22  and  23,  in 
order  to  appreciate  the  insignificance  of  the  whirlpool  ravine.* 


Fio.  19.— Section  acrosa  the  whirlpool  ravine,  located  at  bb,  Rg.  3;  W.  well;  R,  vtream. 

The  form  of  the  whirlpcol  cauldron  requires  explanation.  At  Mr. 
Shepherd's  house,  a  short  distance  west  of  the  whirlpool,  there  is  a  well 
90  feet  deep  without  reaching  rock  {w,  fig.  19)  and  this  shows  the 
absence  of  Niagara  limestones  to  a  depth  of  more  than  60  feet  below 
the  surface  rocks  of  the  western  wall  of  the  whirlpool.  At  that  point 
the  limestones  rise  40  feet  higher  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river  than 
on  the  western,  but  the  depression  was  leveled  up  with  drift.  Thus  it 
appears  that  at  this  point  the  Niagai  a  river  took  possession  of  the 
eastern  side  of  a  drift-filled  valley  (Tonawanda~St.  David's),  and  the 
whirlpool  ravine  was  a  little  tributary  to  it.  When  the  falls  had 
receded  to  the  whirlpool  and  penetrated  the  rocky  barrier,  the  currents 
were  able  to  remove  the  filling  of  the  buried  ravine,  and  this  gave  rise 
to  the  form  of  the  cauldron,  which  deepened  its  basin  to  lower  levels 
by  the  currents  of  the  river  acting  upon  the  underlying  soft  shales, 
with  the  landslides  obscuring  the  older  features.  It  is  evident  that 
there  was  no  preglacial  Niagara  river. 

The  Niagara  river  crossed  the  broad  sh.allow  depression  of  the  Tona- 
wanda  drainage,  at  the  falls  and  that  adjacent  to  the  whirlpool  on  a 
basement  of  drift,  but  elsewhere  generally  on  hard  limestones.  Out  of 
both  of  these  materials,  terraces  were  carved  thus  marking  the  old 
river  level,  before  it  sunk  within  the  chasm. 

Discharge  of  the  Niagara  River. 

The  Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A.,  made  the  measurements  of  the 
outfliow  of  the  Great  Lakes  between  June  27th  and  September  iTth, 

*  In  Rept.  of  meeting  of  Am.  As.  Ad.  So.  in  Science,  Sept.,  1886,  it  is  noted  that  Prof  E.  W. 
Claypole  found  rocks  in  the  ravine,  without  giving  any  details  in  explanation.  Since  this 
paper  has  been  in  type.  Prof.  James  Hall  informed  me  that  Prof.  J.  W.  Powell  and  himself  had 
also  seen  the  occurrence  of  the  roclcs,  but  no  notice  has  been  printed.  The  error  has  been  even 
recently  repeated  by  a  writer  in  "Nature." 

U 


n 


106 


DieOHAROE   OF  THE   NtAGARA   RiVER. 


If 


1868.*  That  of  Lake  Huron  was  216,436  ciibic  feet  per  second ;  and 
of  Lake  Erie  for  the  first  part  of  the  season,  304,307  cubic  feet,  and 
268,686  feet  for  the  second  part.  From  these  figures  I  liave  taken  the 
maximum  proportional  discharge  (as  the  volume  is  variable)  of  Lake 
Erie,  which  is  found  to  gather  ^^  of  the  total  drainage  of  the  Niagara 
river,  but  the  mean  discharge  is  less  than  ■^\.  This  is  an  important 
factor  in  the  following  computations. 

Modern  Recession  of  the  Falls. 

The  four  surveys  illustrated  in  figure  18  show  the  modern  recession 
of  the  horstshoe  cataract.  During  48  years  275,400  sfjuare  feet  fell 
away.  The  mean  width  of  the  adjacent  portions  of  the  gorge  (as 
opposite  Goat  Island)  is  1,350  feet.  Thus  the  mean  recession  would 
be  4.176  feet  a  year.  The  American  falls  have  undermined  32,900 
square  feet  of  rock,  which  gives  a  mean  rate  of  0.64  foot  a  year.  But 
the  rate  is  not  uniform.     In  1819,  the  crest  of  the  Canadian  fall  was 


Fin.  30.  —  Tbe  four  surveys  of  the  Caoadian  Falls  showiDg  the  retreat  of  the  cataract  (In 
which  some  inaccuracies  are  apparent;.    (Kibbe.) 

very  acute,  it  had  become  quite  obtuse  in  1842,  acute  in  1886,  but  it 
was  broadening  out  again  in  1890;  thus  there  are  cycles  of  slow  and 
rapid  retreat. 

The  measured  recession  has  probably  obtained  since  the  cataract  cut 
its  way  through  Johnson's  ridge,  for  beneath  the  Tonawanda  basin  the 

*  Report  of  Chief  of  Engineers  for  1869,  p.  583. 


Recession  of  Niagara.  Falls. 


107 


, 


limefitones  have  a  thickness  of  only  45-55  feet,  as  the  upper  00  feet 
had  been  removed  in  jire-Pleistocene  times.  The  capping  limestone  in 
Johnson's  ridge  was  140  feet  thick.  To  the  north  the  thickness  was 
reduced.  Along  those  portions  of  the  chasm  where  tl  e  limestone  is 
heavier  and  the  gorge  narrower  than  in  the  pre-glacial  depression,  the 
stronger  arches  must  have  arrested  the  maximum  rate  of  retreat,  and 
on  this  account,  I  have  reduced  the  measured  mean  rate  of  recession 
by  an  estimated  amount  of  10  per  cent.,  or  to  3.75  feet  a  year  for  the 
recession  of  the  falls  from  the  end  cf  the  canon  to  Johnson's  ridge, 
under  conditions  of  the  modern  discharge  and  descent.  The  mean 
descent  of  the  river  was  from  the  jdain,  now  at  340  feet  above  Lake 
Ontario;  but  whilst  passing  the  rajiidsof  Johnson's  ridge,  25  feet  must 
be  added  to  the  declivity  of  the  river.  After  the  basin  behind  the  river 
was  reached,  the  water  plain  was  reduced  to  about  320  feet,  including 
50  feet  of  descent  above  the  falls  in  the  form  of  rapids.  The  surface 
of  the  country  has  been  deformed  since  the  commencement  of  the 
cataract  by  a  northward  terrestrial  up'ift  to  the  extent  of  12  or  15 
feet,  divided  throughout  the  length  of  the  gorge,  where,  as  seen  in  the 
canon,  the  character  of  the  different  strata  is  remarkably  uniform, 
except  in  the  described  depressions,  across  Johnson's  ridge,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  chasm  where  the  capping  limestones  were  much  thinner, 
but  partly  compensated  fcr  by  the  greater  prominence  of  the  hard 
Clinton  and  Medina  layers. 

The  following  comjuitations  are  based  upon  the  mean  rate  of  reces- 
sion, modified  by  the  variations  in  the  descent  of  the  waters  and  their 
changing  volumes,  which  have  been  discovered  in  the  geological  inves- 
tigations of  the  Great  Lake^. 


Sketch  of  the  Lake  History  and  the  Nativity  of  the  Falls. 

This  outline  is  taken  from  the  chapters  on  the  Lake  History  noted  at 
the  foot  of  the  page.*  At  the  commencement  of  the  Lacustrine 
epoch,  Warren  water  gulf  covered  most  of  the  Lake  region,  and 
Forest  beach  was  its  last  strand.  Afterwards  the  waters  sank  150  feet, 
thereby  dismembering  Warren  water  gulf  into  Algonquin  Gulf  (con- 
fining it  to  the  basins  of  Superior,  Michigan  and  Huron)  with  an  outlet 


*"The  Iro(iuoiB  Beacb,  a  chapter  In  the  History  of  Lnke  Ontario,"  Trane.  Roy.  Btc  Can. 
1889,  p.  182.  "Ceformationot  thelroquoIsBeachandBirthof  LakeOntario."  Am.  Jour.  ScL,  vol. 
xl,  p.  448,  1890.  "Deformation  of  Algonquin  Beacb  and  Birth  of  Lake  Huron,"  Id.  vol  xl'i 
p.  12, 1891.  "  High  Level  Beaches  in  the  region  of  the  Oreat  Lakes  and  their  Deformation,"  Id  , 
p.  201.  "Deformation  of  the  Lundy  Beach  and  the  Birth  of  Lake  Erie,"  Id  ,  vol  zlvii,  p  207, 
1894.  All  by  J.  W.  Spencer.  "  The  History  of  Niagara  Biver,"  by  Q.  K.  gilbert.  Six.  Rep.  C  <m. 
Btote  Res.  Niag.,  1891. 


108 


Effects  of  Chanqks  of  Water  Levels. 


by  way  of  the  Ottawa  vallej',  and  Liindy  gulf  (occupying  the  Erie 
basin  and)  extemling  into  the  Ontario  valley.  These  two  bodies  of 
water  ai)pear  to  have^had  a  coniiuon  level  as  if  connected  in  some  way 
across  the  Ontario  basin,  but^  their  northeastern  extensions  are  not 
known  and  involve  unsettled  questions  that  do  not  affect  the  history  of 
Niagara.  Again,  the  waters  were  lowered  so  that  the  Niagara  River 
emptied  the  overflow  of  the  ErieMiasin,  without  a  fall  into  the  Ontario 
valley.  This  condition  did  not  last  long,  for  the  waters  sank  to  a  level 
(Iroquois  beach)  of  300  feet'J  below  the  Lundy  (and  also  Algoncpiin) 
plain,  and  the  falls  commenced  their  descent  with  the  waters  of  the 
Erie  basin  alone.  The  subsidence  was  accompanied  by  slight  pauses, 
but  waters  remained  for^a  long^time'at  the  level  of  the  Iroquois  beach, 
which  is  now  about' 135  feet  above  Lake  Ontario  at  the  end  of  the 
gorge.  Again  the  waters  subsided  to  the  level  about  80  feet  beneath 
the  present  level  of  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  thereby  lengthened 
the  river  to  12  miles  bevond  the  end  of  the  chasm.  At  this  time  the 
descent  of  the  river  after  passing  the  rapids  at  Johnson's  ridge  was  420 
feet.  By  the  continued  northeastern  terrestrial  elevation  the  waters 
of  the  Huron'basin  were  turned  from  the  Ottawa  drainage  into  the 
Erie  basin,  whose  northeastern  rim  was  elevated  so  as  to  flood  the  lake. 
Later,  the  waters  at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario  were  raised  80  feet  to 
the  present  level.  This  differential  move'innit  was  at  zero  at  the  head 
of  Lake  Erie;  2.5  feet  per  mile  in  the  Niagara  district;  4  ftet  north- 
east of  Lake  Huron,  and  5  feet  per  mile  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario. 
At  the  nativity  of  the  Niagara  River  there  was  no  fall.  A  little 
later  in  the  Iroquois  episode  the  falls  were  very  much  like  the  modem 
American  cataract,  both  in  height  and  volume,  but  afterwards  it 
increased  in  magnitude  and  went  through  the  cbanges  noted  later. 


Laws  of  Erosion . 
When  erosion  is  considered  frora'a  theoretical  point  of  view  and  the 
whole  energy  of  the  water  is  supposed  to  be  expressed  in  the  erosion, 
it  varies  as  the  mass  of  the  water  into  the  square  of  the  velocity  (?ou*). 
Hence  for  a  given  river  increase  of  the  amount  of  i\s  water  or  increase 
of  the  velocity  along  its  course  should  be  expressed  by  greater  erosion. 
But  erosion  is  not  the  only  expression  of  the  theoretical  value  of  the 
energy  of  the  river.  Again,  it  is  well  known  that  the  more  rapid  the 
descent  of  the  stream  the  more  the  erosive  effects  are  expended  on 
the  floor  of  the  channel,  in  deepening  and  forming  the  U-shaped  val- 
leys or  gorges.     On  the  other  hand,  the  reduction  in  the  slope  causes 


i>^      Duration  of   Niagara   Falls. 


Plate   V 


1  rv 


Pi? 


Z  I 
1 


ii 


■ton 
of 


fee 
caf 


THE    WHIRLPOOL    RAPIDS. 


Imws  of  Kb  )8Iom. 


1«''.» 


the  olianncl  to  beconio  hioa<lor  — a  i>iiiui|ile  whioh  has  an  important 
bearing'  in  tliin  Htiidy.  Wliile  the  oljscrviiiioiH  are  iniperfi'ct,  owiiii,' 
to  the  variable  cojiditioiiH  of  iTonion,  Hlill  the  attempt  to  ascertain  tlif 
duration  of  the  tlilVereiit  episodcH  is  tlie  only  natural  He(|ui'nce  to  tlie 
meaHMrenientsof  the  nioih'rn  reecHMion  of  the  falls,  ami  it  jifives  approxi- 
ipate  resultH,  for  without  consideriri^'  the  eliangiiig  episodes  the  rate  of 
reeeHsion  is  of  no  geological  intereHt.  But  tliis  Htudy  may  lead  to 
further  tletailed  investigations. 

Episodes  of   the  Jiiver  and   the   Dnrntion    of  each  —  Age  of  the 

Folh. 

First  Episode, —  From  the  history  of  the  lakes  and  the  river  we 
learn  that  the  early  falU  cascadeil  from  tlie  brow  of  the  escarpment  to 
the  level  of  the  Irocpiois  beach  200  feet  below,  (with  the  Erie  drainage 
only  ^\  of  tlie  total  discliarge  of  the  upper  lakes).  There  is  no  indica- 
tion that  the  Erie  rainfall  was  greater  at  that  time  than  now.  The 
length  of  the  chasm  excavated  during  the  first  ej)isode  is  found  in  the 


Fio.  81.—  M»p  of  the  Korjfe  at  Foster's  flits;  F,  location  of  the  cross  section  fix.  20. 


Fio.  83  —Section  of  the  Rorfte  at  Foster's  flats  (FT.  fig.  17).  Platform  (F)  of  the  old  river 
floor  projecting  into  the  canon.  Its  section  is  shown  la  broken  shadinK  but  with  ravines 
descending;  from  both  sides  of  it.  T,  rock  terrace  surmounted  by  huge  bioclis  of  Niagara  ilme- 
■tones;  6,  orlKinal  river  terrace;  r,  surface  of  river;  L.  O.,  surface  of  Lake  Ontario,  Bottom 
Of  river  about  80  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  lake. 

data  furnished  by  the  study  of  Foster's  flats.  Their  location  is  shown 
at  F,  figure  17,  and  the  structures  are  further  illusinited  in  figures  21 
and  22. 

The  terrace  (T)  rej)resents  the  former  level  of  the  river  (about  190 
feet  above  Lake  Ontario).  It  is  the  only  feature  of  the  kind  in  the 
caiu)n.     It  is  about  50-60  feet  above  the  Iroquois  level  to  which  the 


11) 


El'ISODES   OF   NlAOABA   FaLLS. 


river  descended.  Thng  the  elope  of  the  earlier  and  smaller  streams 
was  about  half  as  great  again  as  the  modern  river  over  the  rapids  at 
this  locality.  The  youthful  river  was  broad  and  shallow,  like  and  of 
about  the  same  magnitude  as  the  modern  American  channel  and  falls, 
acting  evenly  over  the  whole  breadth  and  receding  at  about  the  same 
rate.  The  remnant  of  the  platform  shovs  how  far  the  fall  had  receded, 
before  the  physical  change  which  threw  the  current  to  the  eastern  side 
of  the  channel.  This  change  could  be  effected  by  increasing  the  height 
of  the  falls  which  would  favor  the  deepening  of  the  chasm  at  the 
expense  of  the  width,  especially  as  the  lower  rocks  are  mostly  shale. 
This  change  of  breadth  from  a  wide  and  shallow  to  a  narrow  and  deep 
channel  is  shown  along  the  lower  part  of  the  canon  and  is  illustrated 
by  the  contracted  chaimel  at  the  bottom  of  the  canon  in  a  section  just 
above  the  end  of  the  gorge  (fig.  23). 


Fio.  33.—  SectioD  Lalf  a  mile  from  the  end  of  the  cafion  (yg  fig.  17) ;  66,  terraces  of  river  at 
the  orl);iDal  levei;  L,  O.,  level  of  Lake  Ootario;  bottom  of  river  about  80  feet  below  the  sur- 
face of  Lake  Ontario. 


As  the  changing  conditions  were  gradual,  I  have  placed  the  close  of 
the  first  episode  at  the  time  when  the  falls  had  reached  the  foot  of  the 
te  race  (B  fig.  24),  which  is  11,000  feet  from  the  end  of  the  chasm. 
Varying  the  rate  of  recession  for  the  different  conditions  of  height  and 
volume,  acting  under  a  general  uniformity,  the  time  needed  to  excavate 
the  inmiatiPe  canon  as  far  as  Foster's  terrace  is  found  to  be  17,200 
years. 

iSecoiid  Episode. —  The  subsiding  of  the  waters  at  the  end  of  the  first 
episode,  which  concentrated  the  stream  upon  the  side  of  the  channel 
amounted  to  220  feet,  thus  increasing  the  descent  of  the  w\ater  to  420 
feet,  with  the  lake  receding  12  miles,  and  addiig  this  length  of  shaly 
rocks  to  be  removed.  The  increased  descent  gave  rise  to  new  cascades 
over  the  hard  Clinton  limestones  (o  and  d.  tig.  24)  and  Medina  sand- 
stones {h,  tig.  24)  at  the  end  of  the  cafion,  after  the  shales  between  it 
and  the  lake  had  been  somewhat  reduced  in  height.  A  modern  repiti- 
tion  of  three  such  cascades  over  the  same  berics  of  rocks  may  be  seen 
;jlong  the  Genesee  River  near  Rochester.     Under  tlis  condition  the 


m 


Episodes  of  Niagara  Falls. 


Ill 


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upper  cascade  receded  by  itself  past  Foster's  terrace,  a  distance  of 

3,000  feet.     Thus  closed  the  first 
stage  of  the  second  episoc'e.     After 
passing   Foster's  flat*,  the   cha9»^ 
shows    the    effects    of    a  greatly 
increased   force,  for  the  gorge  is 
again    widened    with  the  terrace 
below  washed  away.    As  no  change 
in  the  total  height  occurred  about 
this  time,  the   magnitude  of  the 
erosion  indicates  an  increased  dis- 
charge, which  was  produced  by  the 
turning  of  the  waters  of  the  Huron 
basin  and    adding    them    to    the 
Niagara  drainage.     The  effects  of 
the  greatly  increased  volume  of  thq 
water  were  to  widen  the  chasm  and 
cut  away  part  of  Foster's  platform, 
but  leaving  enough  to  tell  the  his- 
tory.     The  upper  falls  were  not 
joined  by  the  more  rapitlly  retreat- 
ing lower  cascades  until  after  the 
whirlpool  was  passed,  for  the  evi- 
dence of  the  upper  water-level  is 
left  in  the  deposits  of  river  gravels 
at  an  elevation  of  190  feet  on  the 
northern    side    of    the    whirlpool 
ravine,  which  would  not  have  been 
the  case  if  the  river  were  at  a  lower 
level    after    cascading    over    one 
united  falls.     Just  above  the  whirl- 
pool, the  chasm  becomes  narrow, 
and  here  I  close  the  second  stage 
of  this  episode  of  three  cascades. 
The  lenorth  of  this  section  of  the 
gorge  from  (C  to  D  fig.  24)  is  7,000 
feet.     By  considering  the  propor- 
tional amount  of  work  accomplished 
during  the  elongation  of  the  chasm, 
the  deepening  of  th«  gorge   left 
at  the  close  of  the  first  episode,  and 
its  extension  12  miles  lakeward  (the 
mean  depth  of  shales  removed  from 
eiiiht  miles  was  180  feet,  and  from 


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fu     " 


ao. 


^  »  "  5  5  1 

g  j5   4J      .  J3  -o 

*■«     O     ^.    is     « 

I   «    I  =   3  I 

- i  is  S  = 

•3  o  «  S  J 
S  L  >>  *  I  ■? 
•o  5  is  ■«  S  _fl 

9    ^    a)    «j  P3 

-  ^   5   a        iT 


"•  a  .2   a,  3   -1 

««    O     4»    "1    •« 


112 


Episodes  of  Niagara  Falls. 


four  miles,  60  feet),  and  applying  the  laws  of  erosion,  I  have  found  that 
the  first  stage  required  6,000  years  and  the  second  4,000  years  ;  or 
the  duration  of  the  second  episode  was  10,000  years.* 

Third  Episode. — The  narrowest  portion  of  the  gorge  extends  from 
the  whirlpool  for  a  distance  of  4,000  feet  as  is  shown  in  figure  25  and 
on  the  map  in  fig.  17.  The  various  sections  (figs.  22,  23,  25,  26,  27) 
(should  be  compared. 


Fia.  25.— Section  across  the  narrows  just  north  of  the  railway  bridges  Cdd,  flg.  IT)  6,  original 
banlc  of  the  river;  r,  surface  of  the  river;  L.  0,,  level  of  lake  ;  tioor  of  cafion  80  feet  below  lake 
level. 

This  is  at  the  site  of  the  whirlpool  rapids.  My  exi)lanation  of  this 
narrow  chasm,  without  any  increased  thickness  of  the  limestone  cap- 
ping over  the  shaly  bed  is  that  the  whole  force  of  the  falls  descending 
420  feet  was  concentrated  in  one  cataract  with  a  rapid  of  an  additional 
height  of  25  feet  descending  in  front  of  Johnson's  ridge.  Thus  the 
force  engaged  5  undermining  the  limestones  was  exhausted  in  the 
recession  of  the  falls  by  deepening  the  gorge  in  place  of  broadening  it, 
a  process  more  strongly  brought  out  by  contrast  with  the  sections 
of  the  canon,  immediately  above  (fig.  26)  and  below  (fig.  22)  which  are 
half  as  wide  again.  Such  result  is  in  accordance  with  the  common, 
observations  that  increased  declivity  causes  the  channels  to  be  deepened, 
and  decreased  slope  accelerates  the  widening  of  the  channel  as  is  shown 
in  the  section  near  the  end  of  the  gorge  (fig.  23).  The  computation  of 
the  time  of  the  retreat  of  the  falls  across  this  section  is  a  simple  problem 
as  the  fall  of  water  amounted  to  420  feet  in  place  of  320  of  the  present 
day,  and  the  volume  was  the  same.  Under  these  conditions  the  dur- 
ation of  this  episode  was  800  years. 

Fourth  Episode. — This  is  characterized  by  the  rising  of  the  waters 
in  the  Ontario  basin  so  as  to  bring  the  lake  to  the  present  level,  320 
feet  below  the  repaids  above  the  falls.  Tlie  commencement  of  the 
work  of  this  epoch  was  taken  where  the  cafion  suddenly  became  broad 

*  One  method  considers  only  the  recession  of  the  upper  one  of  the  retreating  falls  Cdescending 
150  feet)  during  the  two  stages  of  this  episode.  Owing  to  the  prevalenceof  limestones  in  the  upper 
section,  the  computation  would  appear  to  be  an  under  estimate.  Another  process  is  based 
upon  the  excavation  of  the  new  portions  of  the  chasm  to  the  full  depth  of  ^iQ  feet,  and  adding 
to  the  components  the  time  required  to  deepen  the  gorge  of  the  first  episode  and  extend  the 
canon  to  the  lake— the  amount  of  work  being  considered  in  terms  compared  with  the  ful' 
dept°  of  excavation  In  the  chasm. 


Episodes  of  Niagara  Falls. 


113 


at  the  head  of  the  whirlpool  rapids,  a  phenoniona  explained 
l)y  the  force  of  the  river  being  vertically  diminished  and 
latterly  increased — the  converse  to  the  conditions  of  those  of  the  third 
episode.     At  first  the  rocks  in  Johnson's  ridge  offered  great  resistance 


Fio.  26  —Section  across  the  Rorge  at  Johnaon's  ridge  («  f,  flg.  17);  L.  O.  level  of  Lake  Ontario; 
r,  surface  of  river;  /),  original  l)aDk  of  river;  holtoin  of  river  80  feet  below  surface  of  the  lake 

on  account  of  the  increased  thickness  of  limestones  nevertheless  the 
lateral  erosion  gained  the  ascendancy  over  the  vertical.  The  section 
through  Johnson's  ridge  is  5,500  feet  long,  and  with  the  laws  of  erosion 
the  time  necessary  for  the  falls  to  retreat  through  it  would  he  ahout 
1,500  years— thus  would  end  the  first  stage  of  the  last  e|»isode.  The 
last  stage  is  the  modern,  or  that  since  the  cataract  readied  the  Tona- 
wanda  basin    south  of   Johnson's  ridge,  whose  rocky  floor,  generally 


Fio.  27.  -HectioD  across  gorge  1,000  feet  north  of  the  Horseshoe  falls  (re,  fig.  17)L,  I.iindy  beach 
to  the  west;  f,  terrace  with  sandy  face;  »o,8urfnce  of  river  at  cn>Htof  falls;  )«,  ditto  below 
falls;  A),  ditto  of  Anirricun  falls;  L.  f).,  level  of  Lake  Ontario.  Bottom  80  feet  below  Isko 
surface. 

Speaking,  is  abruit  80-00  frot  lower  thnn  that  on  the  lirlge  (sre  fig.  L'»); 
yet  the  canon  just  north  of  the  ridge  is  only  250  feet  wider  than  through 
that  barrier.  The  drift  filling  the  basin  offered  but  little  resistame  to 
the  recession  of  the  falls  and  accordingly  the  rate  of  retreat  has  been  com- 
paratively rapid  along  this  section  of  the  river,  which  is  6,000  feet  long. 
Consequently  its  age  is  about  1,500  years.  Thus  the  duration  of  the 
fourth  epoch  has  been  3,000  years, 

yl/76  o/7*tiW.s.— Allowing  1,000  years  for  the  duration  of  the  river 
before  the  advent  of  the  falls,— for  that  its  commencement  was 
not    characterized     by     a    cascade    is    shown    by    the   terraces    on 


I 


114 


Age  of  Niagara  Falls. 


I   ; 


y  f 


i: 


the  edge  of  the  cecarpmont  and  at  the  deserted  month  of  the 
infant  river, —  and  adding  the  duration  of  tlie  four  episodes, 
which  liave  been  calculated  at  31,000  years,  the  age  of  Niagara  River 
would  be  32,000  years;  and  the  date  that  the  Huron  drainage  turned 
from  the  Ottawa  valley  to  the  Niagara  was  7,800  years  ago.  In  order 
to  reduce  the  errors  in  reading  the  means  of  erosive  effects,  the  com- 
ponent stages  have  been  taken  to  as  great  a  degree  of  accuracy  as 
practicable.  In  the  changes  of  level,  the  error  would  suggest  itself  to 
me  as  on  the  side  of  shortening  the  time;  and  there  is  no  evidence  that 
a  much  greater  rate  of  recession  tl  an  now  has  occurred  other  tlian  that 
already  made  use  of;  also  I  have  used  the  maximum  discharge  of  Lake 
Erie.  Consequently  I  am  led  to  conclude  that  the  present  study  has 
set  forth  the  history  and  has  compensated  for  possible  over-estimates 
in  degrees  of  hardness,  and  fairly  represented  the  age  of  the  falls, 
which  is  very  near  that  of  Lyell's  conjecture.  There  is  considerable 
cumulative  evidence  adduced  from  the  history  of  the  lakes  to  strengthen 
confidence  in  the  methods  j)ursued  in  this  investigation.     Let  us  see. 

Conjirmatioti  of  the  Age  of  the  Falls  by  the  Phe?iome?ia  of  Terres- 
trial Movemetits. 

In  the  deformatory  elevation  of  the  Niagara  district,  the  Johnson 
ridge  was  raised  24  feet  above  the  Chicago  divide,  between  the  Michi- 
gan and  Mississippi  waters,  and  did  cause  a  rise  of  the  waters  in  the 
lakes  to  the  point  of  overflowing,  but  the  ridge  was  incised  by  the 
retreating  falls  in  time  to  prevent  the  change  of  the  lake  drainage.  By 
the  simplest  case  of  division  we  have  seen  that  Johnson's  ridge  was 
completely  cut  through  only  about  1,500  years  ago.  Allowing  two  or 
three  feet  of  water  to  have  bten  on  the  Chicago  divide  (covered  with 
silt)  and  as  much  more  for  error,  we  find  that  the  differential  elevation 
of  the  Niagara  district  becomes  a  local  absolute  uplift  of  about  1.25 
feet  a  century.  The  equivaleiit  rate  of  elevation  northeast  of  Lake 
Huron  is  2  feet  and  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario  2.5  feet  a  century. 
This  average  is  that  of  episodes  of  activity  and  repose  during  1,600 
years.  Applying  the  time  ratio  to  the  amounts  of  deformation  we  shall 
obtain  the  results  given  below  in  a  form  for  comparison. 

The  rise  of  the  Algonquin  beach  of  the  Huron  basin,  between  the 
present  outlet  of  the  lake  and  the  former  outlet  at  Lake  Nipissing, 
amounts  to  660  feet,*  about  560  f  of  which  have  been  raised   up  since 

*  Elevation  south  of  and  adjacent  to  Lake  NipiBsini;  determined  by  Mr.  F.  B.  Taylor. 

t  The  waters  of  both  Lundy  and  Algonquin  lakes  were  lowered  alKtut  100  feet  t>efore  the 
bef^innlng  of  the  Niagara  river;  this  being  apparent  and  local,  produced  by  a  prelroquois 
uplift  of  about  halt  a  foot  per  mile,  thus  rsfBlng  the  northeastern  extensions  of  the  beacbf  s". 


CONFIBMATION   OP  THE    AgIS   OF    NiAGARA    Fai.LS.  115 

the  birth  of  Niagara  Falls.  Of  this  latter  amount  about  l.^o  feet  have 
been  lifted  since  the  waters  were  turned  into  the  Niagara  drainage. 
Again  we  get  soini^  proportions. 

The  ratios  of  the  deformation  of  the  Lundy  and  Iro<]Uois  beaches 
!ire  about  tlie  same,  and  we  have  the  Lundy  beach  differentially  raised 
160  feet  in  the  Niagara  district,  and  the  Iroquois  beach  deformed  to  3V0 
feet  near  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario  (compared  with  the  level  at  the 
head  of  the  lake)  since  the  close  of  the  Irofpiois  episode.  And  here 
there  are  data  for  comparison.  These  figures  have  been  mostly  taken 
from  the  pa])ers  already  cited.  Compiling  the  results  derived  from  all 
these  data,  it  appears  that : 

A.  The  time  which  has  elapsed  since  the  Iroquois  episode,  or  the  end 

of  the  first  episode  of  the  falls,  is: 

Years. 

(1)  From  the  com])utation  given 13 ,  SOU 

(2)  From  the  date  of  deformation  recorded  in  the  Iroquois 

beach* 14,800 

(3)  From  the  deformation  recorded  in  the  Lundy  beachf,  12,800 

Mean  result 13 ,  800 

B.  (1)  Computed  lime  since  the  Huron  waters  turned  into  the 

Niagara 7 ,  800 

(2)  From  the  proportional  deformation  of  the  Algonquin 

(N.  E.)  outlet  compared  with  the  computed  age  of 

the  riverj 7 ,400 

(3)  From  the  proportional  deformation  of  the  Algoncpiin 

uplift§ 6 ,500 

Mean  result 7,233 

C.  (1)  Computed  age  of  Niagara  river 32 ,  000 

(2)  From  the  rate  of  deformation  of  Algonquin  beach  since 

the  commencement  of  Niagara  river || 28 ,  OOu 

Mean  result 30,000 

These  computations  were  originally  made  not  to  seek  for  favorable 
evidence  but  to  discover  discrepancies,  for  I  did  not  expect  that  the 
data  had   been   correlated  with   sufficient  accuracy;  but  the   several 

*  A  differential  rise  of  370  feet  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario  divided  Ijy  2.5  feet  a  century. 
+  A  rise  of  160  feet  la  the  Niagara  district  divided  by  1.85  feet  a  century. 
t  One  hundred  and  thirty  --  flve-hundred-sixtieths  of  33,000  years. 
ii  Thirteen  fifty-sixths  of  88,000  (see  next  note) 

II  Rise  of  660  feet  in  the  Algonquin  beach  less  100  feet  before  the  birth  of  the  Niagara  at 
the  rate  of  2  feet  a  century, 


^1 


116 


Date  of  Iob  Aob. 


t  -1^' 


results  agreeing  so  closely  in  spite  of  the  unavoidable  inaccuraciefl, 
seem  to  me  to  confirm  the  general  correctness  of  the  determinations  of 
the  phenomena  and  the  methods  of  compution. 

Melationship  of  the  Falls  to  Oeoloffical  TH,rtie. 

All  attempts  to  I'educe  geological  time  to  terms  of  years  are  most  diffi- 
cult, but  the  Niagara  river  seemed  to  be  an  easy  chronometer  to  read, 
and  yet  we  see  that  some  utterances  even  this  year  are  vastly  farther 
from  the  mark  than  those  made  fifty  years  ago  —  the  clock  had  not 
kept  mean  time  throughout  its  existence.  After  this  attempt  at  regu- 
lating the  chronometer,  investigators  will  doubtless  carry  the  determi- 
nations to  greater  accuracy,  but  for  the  present  I  can  offer  this 
geological  compensation.  The  Niagara  seems  a  stepping  stone  l)ack 
to  the  ice  age.  What  is  the  connection  between  the  river  and  the 
Pleistocene  phenomena";:' 

The  Lake  epoch  is  an  after  phase  of  the  Glacial  ])eriod,  and  Niagara 
came  into  existence  long  subsequent  to  the  commencement  of  the  lakes. 
If  we  take  the  differential  elevation  of  the  deserted  beaclies,  and  treat 
them  as  absolute  uplifts  in  the  Niagara  district,  with  the  mean  rate  of 
rise  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the  lake  e])0ch  as  in  the  later,  then  the 
appearance  of  Warren  water  in  the  Erie  basin  was  about  <iO  per  cent* 
longer  ago  than  the  age  of  Niagara  river;  or  about  60,000  years  ago. 
The  earlier  rate  of  deformation  was  not  greater  than  that  during  the 
Niagara  episode  as  shown  by  the  deformation  of  the  beaches,  but  it 
may  have  been  slower,  so  that  from  50,000  to  60,000  years  ago  Warren 
water  covered  more  or  less  of  the  Erie  basin.  Before  the  birth  of 
Niagara  river,  by  several  thousand  years,  there  was  open  water  extend- 
ing from  the  Erie  basin  far  into  the  Ontario  and  all  the  ui»])er  lakes 
were  oj»en  water  with  a  strait  at  Nijnssing,  but  the  northeastern 
limits  are  not  known,  and  although  they  do  not  affect  the  age  of 
Niagara,  yet  they  leave  an  open  «]U<;stion  as  to  the  end  of  the  ice  age, 
in  case  of  those  who  do  not  regard  the  advent  of  the  lakes  as  its 
termination.  From  these  considerations  it  would  appear  that  the  close 
of  the  ice  age  may  safely  })e  placed  at  50,000  years  ago. 


' 


End  of  the  Falls. 

As  has  already  been  noted,  the  falls  was  in  danger  of  being  ended 
by  the   turning  of  the   waters   into  the   Mississippi,   when   the  cut 

*The  beaches  show  an  elevation  in  the  Niagara  district  (accompanied  by  deformalion) 
amouutiDK  to  840  feet  above  tide,  of  which  578  feet  have  been  raised  since  tho  birth  of  the 
Niagara  river. 


t 


i 


End  of  Niaua.ba.  Falls. 


117 


tlirongh  the  Johnson  ridge  was  effected.  With  the  present  rate  of 
calculated  terrestrial  uplift  in  the  Niagara  district,  and  the  rate  of 
recession  of  tlu*  falls  continued,  or  even  dotibled,  before  the  cataract 
shall  have  reached  the  Devonian  escarpment  at  Huffalo,  that  limestono 
barrier  shall  have  been  raised  so  high  as  to  turn  the  waters  of  the 
upper  lakes  into  the  Mississippi  drainage  by  way  of  Chicago.  An 
elevation  of  (U)  feet  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Erie  would  bring  the  rocky 
lloor  of  the  channel  as  high  as  the  Chicago  divide,  and  an  elevation  of 
70  feet  would  completely  divert  the  drainage.  This  would  require 
5,000  (ir  6,000  years  at  the  estimated  rate  of  terrestrial  ehivation.  It 
would  be  a  repetition  of  the  jihenomena  of  the  turning  of  the  drain- 
age of  thi)  upper  lakes  from  the  Ottawa  valley  into  the  P^rie  basin. 

(Jondaaions. 
The  computation  of  the  age  of  the  Niagara  riv«'r, —  based  upon  the 
measured  rate  of  recession  during  48  years;  upon  the  changing  descent 
of  the  river  from  200  to  420  feet  and  back  to  320  feet;  and  upon  the 
variable  discbarge  of  water  from  that  of  the  Erie  basin  only,  during 
three-fourths  of  the  life  of  the  river,  to  afterwards  that  of  all  the 
upper  lakes, —  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Niagara  Falls  are  31,000 
years  old  and  the  river  of  32,000  years  duration;  also  that  the  Huron 
drainage  turned  from  the  Ottawa  river  into  Tjake  Erie  less  than  8,000 
years  ago.  Lastly,  if  the  rate  of  terrestrial  deformation  continues  as 
it  appears  to  have  done,  then  in  about  5,000  years  the  life  of  Niagara 
Falls  will  cease,  by  the  turning  of  the  waters  into  the  Mississippi. 
These  computations  are  confirmed  by  the  rate  and  amo\int  of  differen- 
tial elevation  recorded  in  the  deserted  beaches,  It  is  further  roughly 
estimated  that  the  lake  epoch  commenced  50,000  or  60,000  years  ago, 
and  there  was  open  water  long  before  the  birth  of  Niagara  in  even  the 
Ontario  basin,  and  that  under  no  circumstances  could  there  have  been 
any  liydrostatic  obstr motion  to  the  Ontario  basin  since  before  the 
l>irth  of  Niagara  Falls. 


Index  to  Duration  of  Niagara  Falls  and  the  History 

of  the  Great  Lakes. 


PAOB. 

Age  of  Niagara  Falls IO9,  114,  115 

•'  "         "      confirmed II4 

"  "         "      conjectural 99 

Algonquin  Beach 64-73 

"  "      elevations  of gg 

Oulf 58,  60,  107 

Altitudes  of  Algonquin  Beach 66     q<j 

"         "  Arkona  " 67,77     79 

♦'Forest  "      67,' 76*,    79 

*'         '*  Irocjuois  "      47 

"        "  Lundy  .  "     * " "    59 

"         "  Mauniee         "      82 

"         "  Ridgeway       "      77,    80 

"         "  Great  Lakes j4 

"         "  high  terraces 78,83,    84 

'•        "  Niagara  District 100 

Ancient  outlet  of  the  Erie         Basin 19 

"       Huron         "    19 

"  ♦'         "       Michigan    " 20 

"     shores.    See  Beaches. 

Antiquity  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley 13 

Arkona  Beach 67,  77,    19 

Artemisia  gravel 43 

Atlantic  cioastal  submergence 9 

Backing  of  Ontario  waters 49,    70 

••  Erie  "      61 

••  Huron         "      73 

"  Michigan    "      73 

Bakewell 99 

Barriers  of  lak(>  basins  22,  51 ,  72,    73 

l^iisins  of  (Jreat  Lakes,  origin  of 14  26 

Beach,  Algonquin 64-73 

"      Arkona 67,  77,     79 

"      Burlington   29 

"      Forest 58,  60,  67,  76,  79,  80,  117 

' '      Iroquois 44  -57 

"      Lundy 58-63,  115 


120 


INUKX. 


PAOB. 

H*>auh,  Mauinoo 88 

"      Riclgeway 77,  80 

Beuches  below  the  Ii'oqiiuiH 49 

lii'nclieH  buried 21 

"        deforniiition  of.    See  Deformation  of  HeacbcH. 

BcmiheH  of  the  AdiroiidackM 22,  27  HO 

'•             Labrador 9.1 

Micliigaii.     See  named  beaclies. 
New  Yorli.     See  named  beuciu's. 
Ohio.     See  named  beaches. 
Ontaric*.    See  named  beauhes. 

Vermont 52 

f.1 

89 


It 

M 
l< 
<• 
l« 


I 


f?eaver,  remains  of 

Hell,  R " 

Uirth  of.Oreat  Lakes  : 

"     Lake   Erie 58-6:1 

"      Huron 04-73,    78 

"        "      Michigan 78 

]•*  ";iL*J"tano 44,    50 

"      Superior 72 

"    Niagara  Falls 108 

Honney,  ,T.  G 24 

Uoulder  pavementB 27,  :i5-39,  05.    68 

lloulders  transported  by  ice 37 

Buried  beaches 21 

' '      channel  of  the  Mississippi 8 

"      valley  between  Georgian  Bay  ami  Lake  Ontario 18 

Lake  Huron  and  Lake  Michigan 18 

revealed  by  borings 18 

Burlington  Beach 29,    30 

"  Heights 39 

(Jhanges  in  the  nmgnitude  of  the  falls 108-113 

Changes  of  level  in  Asia 90 

"     Barbadoes 90 

»«  "     Europe 90 

"     Norway 90 

' '     Rocky  Mountains 95 

Changes  of  height  of  Niagara  Falls . .  108,  109-113 

Changes  of  outlet  of  "Lake  Huron 01,  63,  73,  111,  114,  115 

•*  "  of  the  Erie  Basin 19 

•<  •«  "       Huron  Basin 19 

"  "  "       Michigan  Basin 19,    81 

Channels  over  divides 97 

Channels  over  Tehuantepec  Divide 98 

Chamberlin.T.  C 41,     70 

Characteristics  of  deserted  shores 27-uu 


! 


1 


NDKX. 


121 


PAOB. 

..  83 

7,  80 

. .  49 

. .  21 


52 

51 

89 


44, 

72 
50 

,  , 

73 

,  , 

108 

,  . 

24 

65, 

68 

,  , 

a? 

,  , 

21 

,  , 

8 

•  .  • 

18 

•  •  • 

18 

18 

29, 

30 

■  •  • 

39 

1(18 

-iia 

•  •  ■ 

90 

•  ■  • 

90 

.  •  • 

90 

•  •  • 

90 

,  , 

95 

109-113 

114, 

115 

•  •  • 

19 

*  •  • 

19 

19 

81 

•  •  • 

97 

•  •  • 

98 

41, 

70 

.  27-u5 

i 


PAOR. 

Chicago  overllow 57,  61,  114 

Claypole,  K.  W 105 

Clendenin,  W.  VV 64,  74 

CooHtal  BuhiiKTgt'iicH  : 

••  "  Atlantic 9,11 

•*  "  tJulf 9 

"  "  i^ueiflo 9 

Conjectures  ua  to  uge  of  Niagara  Falls 99 

Continental  elevation 7 -1U,    85 

Compulation  of  age  of  Niagara  Falls 109-118 

Contirniation  of  age  of  Niagara  l-'alls 1 14,  115 

Daua,  J.  1) 49 

Date  of  doHe  t>f  Ice  Age 116 

UavidHon,  Geo 9 

UawHon,  (}.  M  51,  94,    96 

Deformation  of  Shore  T^ineH : 

"  Algonciuiii  Hea(rh 04,  05,  08.  69,  70,    82 

"  "  Arkona  Beach 82 

"  "   Forest  Beach 82 

"  "  Iroquois  Beach 44,47,     82 

"   Lundy  Beach 58,00,    61 

'•  "   Maumee 83 

"  "   liidgeway 81 

"  "   New  KngiaiidTerrai-es. 89 

"  '*  Shores  north  of  the  Adironilacij^; 56,     86 

"  Warren  Shores 74 

De  (leer,  (i •     57 

I  )epres8ion  across  Micihigan 80 

"  of  T.iaurentian  Mountains 80 

Desor,  E 83 

Deserted  shores,  «!haracteristics  of 27-35 

Depth  of  the  Great  Lakes 16 

"      "  Niagara  River tOO 

Dip  of  the  Niagara  Strata 101 

Direction  of  Terrestrial  Uplift 48,  49,    68 

Discliarge  of  the  Niagara  Iliver 105,  106 

"  '«  •'  "    original 109 

Dismemberment  of  Warren  water 61,  71,  78,  79,    92 

Drainage  over  ice ^^ 

"        to  the  Ottawa  Valley 72 

Drift-ailed  valleys 20 

Drift  ridges  between  Georgian  Bay  and  Lake  Ontario 18 

Drowning  of  heads  of  lake  basins 50,  69,  70,  108 

Dundas  Valley,  origin  of 1* 

Duration  of  Niagara  Falls 39-117 

Effects  of  deformation  of  shore-lines 50,  69,  70,  108 

16 


122 


In  DEI. 


Elevation  of  Beiu-hoH.    Se«<  AltitiitlcH  of  Htiii('li(>H  uiul  r«'H|H>ctivf  Hlrands, 

Klevution  of  coDtinuntH 7-i:<,    M 

Kllicott,  Andrew  «9 

KIk  remains fil 

Emergence  of  continent &(),  A7,  71   et  ul. 

EtfectH  of  deformation 10b 

End  of  Niagara  Fails 117 

Episodes  of  Niagara  Falls 109-118 

Erie  Basin 19 

"   birth  of  Lake 60 

Erigan  River 19 

Erosion,  laws  of 108 

Erratics  at  great  altitudes 9n 

Falls  of  Niagara  River 99-117 

Falls  of  the  Genesee  River 1 10 

Features  of  the  basins  of  the  ( f  reut  I -nkes 16-lH 

Fjords  of  Norway .' 18 

Fiemming,  Sanford 04 

Flooding  of  the  head  of  lake  liusiiis 49,  01,    78 

Focus  of  terrestrial  elevation 49 

Forest  Beach 58.  00,  67,  70,  79,  80,  117 

Foster's  Terrace 109 

Oenesee  Falls 110 

"      Terraces 88 

Geology  of  the  Niagara  District 101 

Gilbert,  G.  K ;»1.  23,  44,  48,  Til,  r»;J.  55,  67.  04.  M,  97,  100 

Glacial  lakes 52,  75,  91,     93 

Glacial  lake  liypothesis 52,  53-57.  71,  84,    98 

Glacial  lakes,  existing 91 

Glaciation  of  the  AdirondackH 55,    5r> 

Glaciation  of  the  lake  region 20 

Grant,  C.  C 51 

Great  Lake  basins 14-17 

Green,  Andrew  H 1 

Grand  Traverse  Fjord IS 

Gravel  plains 39,  42,  43,    88 

Gravels  beneath  till 39 

Gulf  of  Maine  submergence 9 

"     Mexico  submergence 9 

"     St.  Lawrence  submergence 9-11 

Hall,  James 44,    99 

Harrington,  J.  Ji 96 

High  continental  elevation 21 

High  level  gravels 27,  38,  88,  87,    88 

I  shores  of  Warren  water 74-84 


High  le 
Hill,  E 


26 


Tndkx. 


123 


H5 

m 

61 

till. 
108 

in 

-118 

19  • 

6U 

19 

1U8 

9fJ 

-117 

110 

6-18 

IB 

04 

78 

49 

117 

109 

110 

88 

101 

,  100 

98 

,    93 

91 

,   or. 

,     20 

.     51 

14-17 

1 

.     18 

,    88 

.     39 

9 

9 

9-11 

,     99 

.     95 

.     21 

',    88 

74-84 

.    26 


Hind.  IT.  Y 80.    87 

Ilinde,  (1.  J 28 

lliHtory  of  NiiiKivra  FhIIh .    99-117 

"     tlu«  Cln-iit  Lakt'H,  Hki«t<li  of 107 

HitchciK^k,  ( '.  II 58,  72,    89 

liudHon  Fjord g 

HudHoii  Bay  Hubinergencf 1 1 

Hunt,  T.  Storry H 

Huron  Basin 17 

Huroniau  Rivor \q 

Ice  Age,  date  of 118 

Initial  Region  of  Deformation  : 

Iroijuoiu  Beacli 22  44-67 

"      altitude  of '. .    47 

"  "       deformation  of 47 

"  "       orgunisniH  of 51 

"  "       in  the  Adirondacica 47-19,  62-57 

Iroquois  Gulf 52,  et  al. 

Iroquois  Plane  in  relation  t<J  otIierH 69 

Irving,  A 25 

Johnson's  Ridge .   60,  01,  114 

"  "    efrocts  upon  retreat  of  Niagara  Falls  114 

Joliuson,  William 99 

Jukes-Browne,  A.J 95 

Karnes 39,    41 

Kibbe,  Aug.  H 99 

Labrador  Terraces ; . .      95 

Lake  basins,  excavation  of 14-26 

'       closing  of :..     49.  01,63,  etal. 

'       origin  of 14-26 

"         "       submergence  of 11 

Lakes,  birtli  of  the.     See  Hirtli  of  the  Lakes. 

Lake  Erie 16,    58 

"    liaron 17,  64,    72 

"    Michigan 17 

.*'    Ontario 16,    44 

"    Simcoe 18,    19 

"    Superior I7,    73 

Laure..tian  River 19,    23 

Laws  of  erosion 108 

Lesley,  J.  P 1 

Lower  Huron  beaches 68 

"      Ontario  beaches 49 

Lundy  Beach 58-68,  115 

«♦  "      altitude  59,    60 

"      deformation 69,    60 


II 


« 


124 


Indrx. 


PAflB. 

Lundy  Beftch,  rolationsiiip  to  tlu;  Algonquin  Beadi 60 

"           "               "               "       Forest  Beiicli 60 

"           "               "              "       Irot|iioi8  Beaili 61 

Lundy  Gulf riH-OH,  108 

Lyell,  Charles 99 

McConnell,  R.  (} 94,  95 

McGee,  W.J 18 

Manimouth 51 

Marine  deposits  without  organisms 90 

"      organisms  of  Lake  Superior 72 

"      plants           "                "         72 

Maumee  Beach ....    B2 

Maumee  overflow 93 

Methods  of  studying  origin  of  hasins  of  lakes 15 

Mississippi  channel,  buried 8 

"         Fjord 9 

Modern  drainage  established 


7:< 
92 
97 
69 
o 


Moiiawk  overflow 70, 

' '        terraces 

MoUusks  in  beaches 

Mount  Desert  Terraces ,ia 

Murray,  A 815 

Niagara  District,  topography  <,f 100 

"  "        elevation  of 100 

"  "        geology  of 101 

Niagara  Falls,  age  of 109,  115 

"  "      birth  of lOH,  109 

"  "      changes  of  height  of 109-113 

"  "      episodes  of 109-11;} 

"  "      recession  of 106 

Niagara  C!afion,  size  of 100 

Niagara  River,  discharge  of 108 

"         "        size  of 100 

"  "        postglacial 105,  106 

•'  "        adjacent  preglacial  valleys 104,  105 

Nipi.ssing  Straits 01,6«,  7:^,  111,  113,  114,  115,  116 

outlet 71,  72,  108 

"        barrier  to  outlet 73 

Nordenskjold,  A.  E 51 

Objections  to  marine  origin  of  beaches 90 

Organisms  of  Iroquois  Beach 51 

"       "     Algonquin  Beach 68 

Origin  of  the  basins  of  the  Great  Lakes 14-26 

"       barriers  retaining  the  Great  Lakes 22,    51 

"       St.  Lawrence  Valley 12 


PAGE. 

,  , 

60 

,  , 

60 

.  , 

61 

33, 

108 

,  , 

99 

M. 

95 

,  , 

•;2 

,  , 

51 

,  , 

90 

,  , 

72 

,  , 

72 

J  , 

82 

,  , 

93 

,  , 

15 

,  , 

8 

,  , 

9 

>  ■  ■ 

7:? 

70, 

92 

,  , 

97 

69 

52 

.  .  . 

8;? 

.  .  . 

100 

.  •  • 

100 

.  .  . 

101 

09, 

115 

OS, 

109 

109 

-113 

109 

-ii:j 

106 

•  ■  • 

100 

•  >  • 

108 

•  •  • 

100 

or,, 

106 

104, 

105 

113 

116 

72, 

108 

.  .  . 

73 

•  •  • 

51 

•  •  ■ 

90 

•  t  ■ 

51 

,  . 

68 

. .  14-26 

22 

.  51 

12 

Index. 


125 


PAGB. 


Origin  of  the  Whiflpool  Cauldron . .     105 

Whirlpool  —  St.  David's  Vnlloy 105 

Osars "gg"       41 

Ottawa  drainage 61,63,  73,  ui,  114,  115,  116 

Outlet  of  Algontjuin  Gulf 61_  gg 

"      former,  of  Huron  Lake 61^  63 

Pacific  coast  subsidence 9 

Physical  objection  to  glacial  dams 92 

Pohlman,  Julius I7  104 

Post  Pleistocene  submergence ,   85 

Rate  of  recession  of  Niagara  Falls 106,  107 

Rate  of  terrestrial  elevation 86 

Reid ,  Clement 25 

Relationship  of  Planes  of  Lundy  and  Iroquois  (iuifs 61 

"           "  Lundy  and  Algonquin  Gulfs 60 

"           "  Iro(|Uois  and  Algonquin  Gulfs Oft,  71 ,  86 

•'           *'  Niagara  Fnlls  to  the  Gt'ological  Tiiiic 116 

"           "  Niagara  Falls  to  the  Ice  Age lie 

Ridge  roads  71,  f^o,  ^t  al. 

Hidgoway  Beach   77,  80 

Revoi*sal  of  drainage 81 

Roniinger,  Carl 83 

Russel ,  I,  C 91 

Saginaw  embayinent 81 

Seeley,  H.  G 05 

Seneca  Lake  Terra(;es 88 

Shaler.N.S "'.'.'.'   02",  72 

Smith,  Sydney  1 72 

Spellman,  W.  J 64,  69,  74 

Stimpson,  Wni 72 

Submergence  oil'  the  Atlantic;  coast 9 

Gulf           "       8 

"            of  Hudson's  Hay ]  1 

*'            of  Lake  Basins 11 

•*            of  Ontario  Hasin 50 

"            otr  the  Pacitir  ro.-ist 9 

Surveys  of  the  Falls 99,  106 

Taylor,  F.  B 1,114 

Terraces;  Sea  Beaches  : 

"         of  Labrador 89 

"          '•    Michigan 79,  83 

"         "   Mount  Desert 89 

"   New  York 88 

"          "   Ontario  89 

"         "   Pennsylvania 88,89,  94 

"         "  Vermont 89 


lie 


Index. 


Terrestrial  elevation paoe. 

Tonawanda  Valley,  Ancient ®^ 

Tonawnnda  —  St.  David's  Valley  '^^ 

Topham,  Harold ^^^ 

Trent  Valley  ovorllow ^^ 

Warping  of  boacheH  ...  '^^>    ^1 

Warren,  G.  K .'.' 22,    23 

Warren  Gulf  ....  ^'    21 

"    "  .lismembern^ent i;f;;;;;;; «f ^;f'';f •  ^^-^^ 

"  "     high  level  sl,ore.s 61.71,78.79,    02 

"  "    shrinkage  of "^^'^^ 

Whitaker.  William. .  84 

White,  I.  C 25 

89 


4 


FAOR, 

86 

104 

105 

91 

70,  71 

22,  23 

H.  21 

7,  S8,  60,  74-84 
71,  78.  79,  92 

74-82 

84 

25 

89 


